18 THE EUROPEAN UNION SPECIAL
REPRESENTATIVE FOR CENTRAL ASIA
(28873)
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| Council Joint Action extending and amending the mandate of the Special Representative of the European Union for Central Asia
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| Legal base | Articles 14, 18.5, and 23.2; QMV
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| Department | Foreign and Commonwealth Office
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| Basis of consideration |
EM of 5 September 2007 |
| Previous Committee Report |
None; but see (28295-28301) —: HC 41-viii (2006-07) para 10 (30 January 2007) and (28674) —: HC 41-xxv (2006-07) para 12 (13 June 2007)
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| To be discussed in Council
| 2 October 2007 Telecom/Transport/Energy Council Council
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared, but further information requested
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Background
18.1 EU Special Representatives (EUSRs) are appointed to represent
Common Foreign and Security Policy where the Council agrees that
an additional EU presence on the ground is needed to deliver the
political objectives of the Union. They were established under
Article 18 of the 1997 Amsterdam Treaty and are appointed by the
Council. The aim of the EUSRs is to represent the EU in troubled
regions and countries and to play an active part in promoting
the interests and the policies of the EU.
18.2 An EUSR is appointed by Council through the
legal act of a Joint Action. The substance of his or her mandate
depends on the political context of the deployment. Some provide
a political backing to an ESDP operation, others focus on carrying
out or contribute to developing an EU policy. All EUSRs carry
out their duties under the authority and operational direction
of the High Representative (Javier Solana). Each is financed out
of the CFSP budget implemented by the Commission. Member States
contribute regularly e.g. through seconding some of the EUSR's
staff members.
The European Union Special Representative for
Central Asia
18.3 The EU established a Special Representative
for Central Asia in September 2005 to ensure coordination and
consistency of external EU actions in the region. Jan Kubis, the
former Secretary-General of the Organisation for Security and
Co-operation in Europe, was appointed to this position. Mr Kubis
resigned in July 2006 on his appointment as Slovak Foreign Minister
and Mr Pierre Morel was appointed in September 2006.
18.4 His initial mandate was based on contributing
to the strengthening of democracy, rule of law, good governance
and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in Central
Asia. It also focused on enhancing EU effectiveness and visibility
in the region, including through a closer coordination with other
relevant partners and international organisations, such as the
Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe. The mandate
was amended to contribute to wider Common Foreign and Security
Policy work on energy security, and to help develop bilateral
energy cooperation with important producer and transit partners
in Central Asia. We cleared the most recent amendment on 30 January
2007.[79]
18.5 The UK currently pays approximately 18% into
the CFSP budget, from which the costs of the EUSRs are met. The
Minister says that the costs for EUSR for Central Asia in 2007
will be €1,000,000 (£678,000).
The EU Strategy for Central Asia
18.6 The Common Strategy instrument was created by
the Amsterdam Treaty, as the means of setting out the objectives,
overall policy guidelines, organisation and duration of the EU's
external policies towards geographic or thematic areas.
18.7 The EU Strategy for Central Asia sets out the
EU's approach to promoting democracy, human rights, good governance
and sustainable development, counter-terrorism, counter-narcotics
and energy security in Central Asia. It lays out how it intends
to work within existing instruments, such as the Partnership and
Co-operation Agreements and other co-operation frameworks, to
enhance cooperation.
18.8 We considered it on 13 June 2007 on the basis
of a 6 June 2007 Explanatory Memorandum from the then Minister
for Europe at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr Geoffrey
Hoon). He explained that:
—
the December 2006 European Council mandated the incoming German
Presidency to prepare the Strategy for adoption at the European
Council in June 2007;
— the Strategy would serve as the general
framework for enhancing EU cooperation with the Central Asian
states over the next 5-10 years;
— it was not a legislative document, but
would sit alongside the European Commission's 2007-2013 Assistance
Strategy for Central Asia, which provides the resources to support
the strengthening of political dialogue with the Central Asian
states; and
— it was based on "a clear sense,
both within the EU and the Central Asia region, that the EU's
profile in the region was low, and fell some way behind that of
Russia, China and the United States".
18.9 In its introduction, the paper noted that the
Central Asian States — Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan — lie at a strategically
important intersection between the two continents. With a strong
interest in a peaceful, democratic and economically prosperous
Central Asia, the EU Strategy aimed at co-operating actively with
the Central Asian States in reaching these goals as well as contributing
to safeguarding peace and prosperity in neighbouring countries.
The Strategy took account of the progress which the Central Asian
States have themselves made since attaining independence, and
of their common aspects as well as specific national contexts
and requirements, and would build on the results obtained under
the implementation of the various Partnership and Co-operation
Agreements, EU assistance programmes and other initiatives taken
by the EU to support the states of Central Asia.
18.10 The EU interest in security and stability as
well as in adherence to human rights and the rule of law in Central
Asian States derived from:
— strategic,
political and economic developments as well as increasing trans-regional
challenges in Central Asia impact directly or indirectly on EU
interests;
— with EU enlargement, the inclusion of
the Southern Caucasus into the European Neighbourhood Policy and
the Black Sea Synergy Initiative; and
— significant energy resources in Central
Asia and the region's aim to diversify trade partners and supply
routes can help meet EU energy security and supply needs.
18.11 Security questions and regional economic development
also required close EU co-operation with each Central Asian state,
taking into account their geographical location — in particular
with respect to Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran — in the
areas of border management, migration, the fight against organised
crime and international terrorism, as well as human, drugs, and
arms trafficking. EU dependency on external energy sources and
the need for a diversified energy supply policy in order to increase
energy security opened further perspectives for cooperation, to
strengthen local energy markets, improve investment conditions,
increase energy production and efficiency and diversify energy
supply and distribution in the region. Priorities for cooperation
with each Central Asian state would be according to its specific
needs, requirements and performance, including human rights, good
governance, democracy and social development. In order to address
issues of particular importance, the EU would within the framework
of this Strategy:
— establish
a regular regional political dialogue at Foreign Minister level;
— start a "European Education Initiative"
and support Central Asian countries in the development of an "e-silk-highway";
— start an "EU Rule of Law Initiative";
— establish a regular, result-oriented
"Human Rights Dialogue" with each of the Central Asian
States; and
— conduct a regular energy dialogue.
18.12 As well as making full use of the potential
of Partnership and Co-operation Agreements, Commission and Member
States' programmes, the EU would make greater use of cooperation
frameworks such as the Baku Initiative. Cooperation with the UN,
OSCE, the Council of Europe, NATO, international financial institutions
and with other regional organisations and fora will be enhanced.
18.13 The EUSR would monitor the implementation process,
make recommendations and report to relevant Council bodies on
a regular basis.
18.14 Use would be made of twinning and seconding
staff between EU and Central Asian administrations or companies
and public-private partnership initiatives. Interaction with international
financial institutions would be strengthened, including the World
Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB).
18.15 The paper then developed each of these broad
approaches in greater detail.
18.16 The Strategy includes an automatic review mechanism
in June 2008 and every two years subsequently.
18.17 The Minister said that there were no direct
additional financial implications for the UK. Within the new external
assistance instruments based on the EU budget for 2007-2013, the
Commission had allocated €750 million for Central Asia, which
would be disbursed through the European Commission Assistance
Strategy for Central Asia for 2007-2013. The average annual allocation
for the region would increase from €58 million in 2007 to
€ 139 million in 2013.
18.18 We cleared the draft Strategy on 13 June, prior
to its agreement at the 18 June General Affairs and External Relations
Council and subsequent adoption by the 21-22 June European Council.[80]
The draft Joint Action
18.19 In his 5 September 2007 Explanatory Memorandum,
the Minister for Europe at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
(Mr Jim Murphy) says that the EUSR's mandate of the EU Special
Representative requires further refinement following the adoption
of the new Strategy. As well as being assigned an enhanced role
in monitoring implementation, making recommendations and reporting
to relevant Council bodies on a regular basis, the EUSR has been
tasked with developing contacts and cooperation with relevant
regional and international organisations interested in Central
Asia:
"These include the Shanghai Co-operation
Organisation (SCO), the Collective Security Treaty Organisation
(CSTO) and the Central Asian Regional Information and Co-ordination
Centre (CARICC) — a UN led project which has established
a regional body dealing with co-ordination of anti-drug activities.
A specific tasking has also been added in relation to input from
the EU Special Representative on the formulation of counter-narcotics
aspects of Common Foreign and Security Policy."
The Government's view
18.20 The Minister says that the Government welcomed
the creation of an EUSR for Central Asia and the appointments
of, first, Mr Kubis and, then, Mr Morel. Since his appointment,
he says that Mr Morel has travelled widely in the region; produced
the initial draft of the new Strategy; and contributed to EU discussions
on policy towards the region, including on energy security and
counter-narcotics. More broadly, the Minister says that Mr Morel
will "continue to provide a common focus for delivering EU
messages not just on key human rights issues, but also on the
benefits of regional co-operation and on potential EU co-operation
and technical assistance in helping the region to address some
of its shared socio-economic difficulties".
18.21 As well as requiring the Special Representative
to play a more significant role in monitoring and reporting on
the implementation of the Strategy, the Minister notes that he
will be "instrumental in drawing up the individual country
action plans envisaged at the first step towards implementation"
and that the amendments formalise the Special Representative's
role in developing contacts and cooperation with the other major
regional players: "Whereas this has been happening on an
ad hoc basis over the last year, the formalising of this role
is expected to lead to better access and greater understanding
of other regional organisations."
Conclusions
18.22 In clearing it, we noted that the Strategy
was timely, comprehensive and ambitious; and also that —
thanks to UK efforts, we were told — was properly balanced,
with the introduction stating that "the development and consolidation
of stable, just and open societies, adhering to international
norms, is essential to bring the partnership between the European
Union and Central Asian States to full fruition". We recalled
that differences between the EU and the authorities in Uzbekistan
over good governance issues, and the latter's failure to respond
to international concern, illustrated the extent of the challenges
that will have to be overcome in at least one instance before
that full fruition is attained; and that the travails that the
EU-Russia relationship was undergoing also illustrated the inherent
difficulties in creating the sort of partnership to which the
European Union naturally aspired, but which remained elusive and
problematic.
18.23 While also noting that there were no financial
implications for the UK, we presumed that the UK would be involved
in at least some of the bilateral programmes envisaged under the
strategy, and asked the Minister, when he submits an Explanatory
Memorandum on the review, to outline what relevant UK activity
there has been and how much it cost.
18.24 We also ask that he outlines and assesses
Mr Morel's contribution at that stage, including what progress
has been made in drawing up each of the Action Plans to which
he refers and in resolving any of the more contentious issues
with Central Asian partners.
18.25 We now clear the document.
79 See headnote. Back
80
(28674) -: see HC41-xxv (2006-07), para 12 (13 June 2007) for
further details. Back
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