12 PRESIDENCY REPORT ON EUROPEAN SECURITY
AND DEFENCE POLICY
(26197)
16062/04
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| Presidency Report on European Security and Defence Policy
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| Legal base | —
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| Deposited in Parliament |
20 December 2004 |
| Department | Foreign and Commonwealth Office
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| Basis of consideration |
EM of 23 December 2004 |
| Previous Committee Report |
None |
| Discussed in Council | 16-17 December 2004 European Council
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared
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Background
12.1 At their 1998 summit meeting in St Malo, the Prime Minister
and President Chirac proposed that the European Union should have
the capacity to respond to international crises: in particular,
the military capacity to take on humanitarian tasks, rescue, peace-keeping
and the tasks of combat forces in crisis management (known as
Petersberg tasks). These proposals were adopted at the Cologne
European Council in June 1999.
12.2 At the 1999 NATO Washington Summit and, subsequently, the
December 2000 Nice European Council, both organisations agreed
that the EU would act only where NATO as a whole was not engaged.
NATO also agreed at the Washington summit to support ESDP with
the so-called "Berlin-plus" arrangements, whereby the
EU can call on key NATO facilities in order to run its own military
operations. At the Helsinki European Council in December 1999,
Member States agreed a military capability target known as the
Headline Goal — deploying 50-60,000 troops, capable of conducting
the full range of Petersberg Tasks, within 60 days, sustainable
for up to a year, with air and naval support as necessary, before
the end of 2003. From the likely scenarios envisaged, the EU Military
Staff (EUMS) generated the "Helsinki Headline Catalogue"
which specifies which capabilities are required in each of 144
capability areas.
12.3 At the June 2000 European Council, Member States
also agreed to provide 5000 police officers for international
missions for conflict prevention and crisis management by 2003,
and to identify and deploy up to 1000 police officers within 30
days.
12.4 The June 2003 Thessaloniki European Council
confirmed that the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP)
was operational across the full range of Petersberg tasks, albeit
limited and constrained by recognised capability shortfalls. The
EU aims to address these shortfalls through its European Capabilities
Action Plan (ECAP).
12.5 Although work remained to be done to fulfil
all the aspects of the Helsinki Headline Goal, a changed strategic
environment and the EU's Security Strategy (adopted by the December
2003 European Council)[39]
led to the June 2004 European Council approving a new Headline
Goal 2010, which will focus primarily on the qualitative aspects
of capabilities — interoperability, deployability and sustainability
— and form the basis of the EU's work on meeting capability
shortfalls in the medium term.
12.6 The Battlegroups initiative has also been developed
to enhance the EU's rapid reaction capabilities — around
1500 troops, ready to deploy within 15 days of a crisis, primarily
in support of the UN, and normally for a period of around 30 days,
with an initial operational capacity period in 2005 and 2006 whereby
the EU will be able to run at least one Battlegroup operation
and, from 2007, at least two concurrent operations.
12.7 The EU's civilian crisis management capability,
or civilian ESDP, has developed in tandem, principally since the
Helsinki European Council in December 1999. A Civilian Crisis
Management Committee was established in May 2000, and in June
2001 the Gothenburg European Council established the four priority
areas for the EU's civilian crisis management capability: policing,
rule of law, civil administration and civil protection. The June
2004 European Council agreed an "Action Plan for Civilian
Aspects of ESDP", which proposes a way forward for civilian
ESDP in light of the challenges outlined in the European Security
Strategy and focuses on further developing operational capability.
The Dutch Presidency report
12.8 Each Presidency submits a report on European
Security and Defence Policy to the European Council (in December
or June). This report follows the usual format: recording significant
developments over the six months of the Dutch Presidency, referring
where appropriate to activities undertaken in earlier months,
highlighting progress in specific areas and drawing attention
to others where further work is needed. It was submitted to the
16-17 December 2004 European Council and endorsed in the Council
Conclusions.[40]
12.9 The main points are:
EU OPERATIONS
- Progress in the launching operation
Althea, the EU military operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina on
2 December 2004, following adoption of UNSCR 1575; the continuation
of the EU police missions to Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUPM) and
Macedonia (Eupol Proxima); and the launching of the first ESDP
Rule of Law mission, Eujust Themis, on 16 July 2004, in Georgia.
- Work has also been taken forward on developing
an ESDP police mission, Eupol Kinshasa, to monitor, mentor and
advise an Integrated Police Unit in the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC) and a possible integrated police, rule of law and
civilian administration mission for Iraq, which would (depending
on the outcome of an ongoing Fact Finding Mission and if approved
by the Council) start after the January 2005 elections.
DEVELOPMENT OF EUROPEAN MILITARY CAPABILITIES
- The report notes the Declaration
on European Military Capabilities made by EU Defence Ministers
at the Military Capabilities Commitment Conference and endorsed
by the Council on 22 November 2004. Progress on EU Military Capabilities
includes a commitment by 24 Member States to form an eventual
total of 13 EU Battlegroups; the definition of the military requirements
necessary to implement the Headline Goal 2010; and evaluation
of the European Capability Action Plan (ECAP). The EDA (the new
EU defence capabilities development, research, acquisition and
armaments Agency) will be fully operational in early 2005, and
will take forward work on the Headline Goal 2010 (in line with
its work on rationalising and harmonising capability requirements,
and linking those directly to industrial and research efforts).
DEVELOPMENT OF EUROPEAN CIVILIAN CAPABILITIES
- Progress in implementing the
Action Plan for the Civilian Aspect of ESDP includes: the Ministerial
Declaration on Civilian Capabilities; a meeting of Member States
with the Candidate Status and non-EU European NATO Members, which
confirmed the continued contributions of these countries to ESDP
operations; a best practice report on human resources, national
training and recruitment practices for civilian crisis management;
and the development of a Civilian Headline Goal with a target
of 2008.
EUROPEAN DEFENCE: NATO/EU CONSULTATION, PLANNING
AND OPERATION
- Work was taken forward on the
Italian Presidency's December 2003 paper "European Defence:
NATO/EU consultation, planning and operations", which envisaged
the establishment of three new elements to develop the EU's links
with NATO and its own planning capacity: liaison arrangements
between the EUMS and SHAPE; a civilian/military cell within the
EU Military Staff; and facilities for an ad hoc operations centre,
which could be used to run civilian/military and military missions.
The Secretary General/High Representative's proposals for these
three elements was agreed by 13-14 December General Affairs and
External Relations Council.
EU-NATO RELATIONS
- The major area of work between
the EU and NATO has been the preparations for the successful handover
from SFOR to Eufor in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
CO-OPERATION WITH OTHER INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
- Progress has been made on co-operation
with the UN. Regular staff-to-staff contacts took place in the
context of the joint consultative mechanism established as part
of the follow-up to the EU-UN Joint Declaration of 24 September
2003. The Council has agreed on arrangements for practical cooperation
between the EU and the UN in civilian crisis management. The EU
has also activated a clearing house process for a co-ordinated
response to the call for reinforcement of Monuc (the UN Mission
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo).
DIALOGUE AND CO-OPERATION WITH MEDITERRANEAN PARTNERS
IN THE FIELD OF CRISIS
- The report notes further progress
in strengthening dialogue and co-operation on ESDP with Mediterranean
partners. More concretely, Turkey and Morocco are participating
in Operation Althea.
ESDP AND AFRICA
- The Council agreed the "Action
Plan for ESDP support to Peace and Security in Africa", along
with the necessary guidelines on the institutional, legal and
budget aspects of ESDP support to Peace and Security in Africa.
ESDP AND THE FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM
- The Presidency produced, and
the Council subsequently endorsed, a Conceptual Framework on the
ESDP dimension of the fight against terrorism, which highlights
areas where the ESDP can contribute to the fight against terrorism.
ATHENA REVIEW
- The first review of Athena,
the mechanism to administer the financing of the common costs
of EU operations having military or defence implications, was
finalised.
EU TRAINING IN THE FIELD OF ESDP
- The report notes the agreement
of the EU Training Concept in ESDP, which will serve as the basis
for analysing and meeting the requirements for training in ESDP.
The Government's view
12.10 In his Explanatory Memorandum of 23 December,
the Minister for Europe (Mr Denis MacShane) comments fully on
the report. He says that "the UK welcomes the report and
supports the work outlined" and that "substantial progress
has been made on the following aspects of ESDP:
EU OPERATIONS
"Because of its size and complexity, Operation
Althea is by far the most important military ESDP mission yet.
The UK is playing an integral part in Althea by acting as lead
nation for the first year of the mission and providing the EU
Force (Eufor) commander, Major General Leakey, and a significant
portion of the HQ staff. Under the Berlin Plus arrangements, the
overall Operation Commander is Deputy Supreme Allied Commander
Europe (Dsaceur), also a UK general. The UK will act as lead nation
in Task Force North West, one of three such task forces within
Bosnia and Herzegovina.
"The UK strongly supports the EU Police
Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUPM) and the EU's efforts
to learn from its experience in Bosnia. The UK also supports the
EU's decision to extend Eupol Proxima for another twelve months,
since it will allow the EU to fully capitalise on the trust and
initiatives established to date, ensuring the operational implementation
and follow-up of advice and further assistance to the local authorities.
The UK views Eujust Themis as a welcome complement to existing
programmes in Georgia.
"The UK is similarly positive about the
Report's other proposed civilian ESDP missions. The Government
believes that Eupol Kinshasa will build on the previous EU/ESDP
commitment to police training, monitoring and mentoring in the
DRC and will support further the transitional government of that
country. We strongly support the consideration by the EU of options
for a possible integrated police, rule of law and civilian administration
mission for Iraq, which is expected to start after the January
2005 elections (an expert team was deployed at the end of November
to plan the operation with Iraqi authorities). We believe this
mission would be an essential step in the development of closer
EU/Iraq relations and will help the Interim Government and its
successor, the Transitional Government, with strengthened governance
and enhanced security capabilities. This will complement UN activity
in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution
1546.
DEVELOPMENT OF EUROPEAN MILITARY CAPABILITIES
"The UK has strongly supported work to develop
European military capabilities. The UK has played a leading role
in conceiving and driving forward the Battlegroups initiative.
We believe that it will make a valuable contribution to the EU's
ability to undertake crisis management operations and should spur
further improvements in national and multinational capabilities.
The UK will initially be providing one Battlegroup on high readiness
in the first half of 2005. In addition, we will contribute a UK/Netherlands
Battlegroup to full operating capacity after 2007.
"Initial commitments have been made to form
an eventual total of 13 EU Battlegroups. The initial operating
capacity, to which the UK is contributing will allow the EU to
run at least one operation during 2005 and 2006. When full capacity
is reached from 2007, it will be possible to conduct two concurrent
operations. We are also closely engaged in work to ensure complementarity
between EU Battlegroups and the NATO Response Force.
"We are pleased that work is under way to
implement the Headline Goal 2010, leading to the finalisation
of the Requirements Catalogue in the spring of 2005. The Government
supports the Headline Goal process as a means of meeting the shortfalls
in the capabilities available to the EU. It will be important,
as the report recognises, to continue the work to meet the shortfalls
in the original Helsinki Headline Goal as well as focussing on
the 2010 targets to improve interoperability, deployability and
sustainability of the capabilities being offered.
"In this context, the European Capability
Action Plan (ECAP) is an important tool for Member States to improve
the capabilities available to the EU, and we are pleased that
work has been undertaken to evaluate it, and to make it as effective
as possible. The report recognises the important role which the
European Defence Agency, with a UK Chief Executive, will play
in co-ordinating and invigorating the ECAP process. The UK played
a key role in establishing the Agency, and we are confident that
it will make a valuable contribution in the field of capability
development.
DEVELOPMENT OF EUROPEAN CIVILIAN CAPABILITIES
"The UK welcomes the significant progress
that the EU has made in implementation of the Action Plan for
the Civilian Aspects of ESDP. Of particular importance were the
Civilian Capabilities Commitment Conference and the development
of the Civilian Headline Goal. The Conference highlighted the
additional capabilities offered by new Member States, reconfirmed
the voluntary commitments of other Member States, and saw the
EU establish capabilities in the field of monitoring and generic
support functions for civilian ESDP missions and EU Special Representatives.
The UK welcomes this expansion of the EU's range of capabilities.
The Ministerial Declaration which followed the conference also
highlighted key challenges that the EU must address in the near
future. These include further improving mission and planning support,
improving the ability of the EU to deploy at short notice and
addressing procurement regulations. We have worked hard to ensure
that the Civilian Headline Goal takes these into account and sets
out a systematic and effective process for ensuring that the EU
meets its ambitions in this area. Other progress has included
a meeting of European Chiefs of Police and the sharing of best
practice concerning human resources, national training, and recruitment
practices for civilian crisis management.
EUROPEAN DEFENCE: NATO/EU CONSULTATION, PLANNING
AND OPERATION
"The UK worked closely with Partners and
with the Secretariat and EUMS on the development of these new
planning capacities, namely: liaison arrangements between the
EUMS and SHAPE; a civilian/military cell within the EU Military
Staff; and facilities for an ad hoc operations centre, which could
be used in particular to run civilian/military missions. This
ensured that the proposals reflected the agreements reached in
December 2003 and would work effectively in practice. As the report
highlights, the civilian/military cell will enhance the EU's capacity
for the strategic planning of crisis management operations, particularly
when a joint civilian/military response is needed. We see the
civilian/military cell as a key new tool in improving ESDP's efficiency
and developing expertise in civilian/military crisis management,
looking particularly at conflict prevention and post-conflict
reconstruction. As the European Security Strategy emphasises,
this is an area where the EU is well placed to play a growing
role. The cell's work will also help in the planning of civilian
operations. The cell should be up and running as soon as possible
in 2005.
"The facilities for an operations centre,
which should be available by the end of 2005, will be used for
missions only when no national headquarters has been identified.
It will not be a standing headquarters (Berlin Plus will remain
the option of choice for major ESDP operations and national HQs
the main option for autonomous military operations), and can be
activated only by a unanimous decision of the Council on the basis
of military advice. An operations centre would be able to run
military missions involving up to 2000 troops; although its real
value will is likely to be in running smaller civilian/military
missions. It could also be used for purely civilian missions.
"In parallel to the development of EU facilities,
the EU has put proposals to NATO for [further] developing liaison
arrangements between the EU and NATO, to enhance cooperation,
consultation and planning and to contribute to the EU/NATO strategic
partnership in crisis management. This will involve an EU cell
at SHAPE and NATO liaison arrangements at the EUMS. This should
be set up as soon as possible in 2005.
EU-NATO RELATIONS
"The strategic partnership in crisis management
between EU and NATO has further developed through regular meetings
within the established co-operation framework. The major area
of work between the EU and NATO during the period of the draft
report has been the preparations for the hand over from SFOR to
EUFOR. The UK took the lead in this work to ensure the Berlin
plus arrangements were agreed in line with HMG policy. The preparations
for the Bosnia transition also required the EU and NATO to agree
how the EU operation would work alongside a continuing NATO presence
on the ground in Bosnia.
CO-OPERATION WITH OTHER INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS
"The report focuses on co-operation with
the UN. Good progress has been made in this area, with proposals
for an EU-UN crisis management exercise study. Preparatory work
should start in January 2005 with the study itself due to begin
in April.
DIALOGUE AND CO-OPERATION WITH MEDITERRANEAN PARTNERS
IN THE FIELD OF CRISIS MANAGEMENT
"The EU's approach to dialogue and co-operation
on ESDP with the Mediterranean Partners is focussed on improving
the Partners' understanding of ESDP by more and better dissemination
of information on ESDP, both in Brussels and Mediterranean capitals.
The UK welcomes this, as it should lead in time to greater participation
in ESDP by the Mediterranean Partners. The UK particularly welcomes
the contributions that Turkey and Morocco are making to Operation
Althea in Bosnia.
ESDP AND AFRICA
"The report summarises the key elements
of the Action Plan for ESDP support to Peace and Security in Africa,
whose aim is supporting African organisations and states in building
autonomous conflict prevention and management capacities. The
UK has been keen to ensure that the Action Plan recognises that
the EU's work should be based on the principle of African ownership.
We have also secured recognition that the EU's activities must
be co-ordinated with those of the UN and African Union and that
they should complement both bilateral and G8 initiatives. ESDP
involvement in Africa must also be co-ordinated with the other
CFSP tools of the EU such as aid and development.
ESDP AND THE FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM
"The Presidency was mandated by the June
2004 Council to produce a Conceptual Framework on the ESDP dimension
of the fight against terrorism. The report notes the endorsement
of this framework, which highlights areas where ESDP can contribute
to the fight against terrorism outside the European Union, particularly
in the areas of prevention of and protection from terrorism; response
and consequence management following an attack; and support to
third countries in the fight against terrorism. The Conceptual
Framework identifies a number of action points for the EU including
inter alia: development of military and civilian capabilities
to prevent and counter terrorist threats; better protection of
personnel, material and assets undertaking crisis management operations;
development of interoperability between civilian and military
capabilities; development of appropriate cooperation programmes
with third countries to promote trust and transparency; seeking
ways of co-operating with NATO in an number of areas.
EU TRAINING IN THE FIELD OF ESDP
"The EU Training Concept in ESDP, agreed
by the Council in September, will serve as the basis for analysing
and meeting the requirements for training in ESDP. The Concept
also contains the principles for establishing the European Security
and Defence College (ESDC), following the completion of its Pilot
course next year. In line with UK policy objectives, the ESDC
will function as a network of existing training institutions,
with member states covering the cost for the training of their
students. Also, the first Training Programme was produced, containing
a list of current and planned courses relevant to ESDP, while
recognising that future programmes will need to be based on an
analysis of requirements.
MANDATE FOR THE INCOMING PRESIDENCY
"The report sets out the EU's mandate for
the incoming (Luxembourg) Presidency which will set the stage
for the UK's Presidency of the EU. We welcome the intention to
take forward the work on the 2010 Headline Goal in preparation
for the next round of information gathering on member states'
capabi1ities and we support the planned work on battlegroups,
to prepare the ground for full operational capacity by 2007. We
welcome the intention to begin work on analysing requirements
for training in ESDP, and to evaluate the outcome of the European
Security and Defence College pilot course. We also strongly support
the intention of the Luxembourg Presidency to consider how to
respond best to the recommendations of the Expert Team for Iraq
and their intention to implement the stages outlined in the Civilian
Headline Goal 2008."
Conclusion
12.11 The report is further confirmation that
the EU's external activities and range of partners continue to
broaden, with the UK apparently maintaining an active role in
most of these activities. This will be all the more so, no doubt,
in the second half of 2005, when the UK assumes the EU Presidency.
Given that the UK is also chairing the G8 in 2005, and given
growing ESDP activity in Africa, the next two such reports will
be of particular interest.
12.12 We clear the present document.
39 Which, in place of large-scale aggression against
any Member State, identified terrorism, proliferation of weapons
of mass destruction, regional conflicts, state failure and organised
crime as "new threats which are more diverse, less visible
and less predictable". Back
40
16238/04, paragraphs 60-62. Back
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