16 EU assistance to the Palestinian Authority
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(33518)
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| Council Decision amending and extending Joint Action 2005/889/CFSP on establishing a European Union Border Assistance Mission for the Rafah Crossing Point (EUBAM Rafah)
Council Decision amending Council Decision 2010/784/CFSP of 17 December 2010 on the European Union Police Mission for the Palestinian Territories (EUPOL COPPS)
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| Legal base | Article 28 and 43(2) TEU; unanimity
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| Department | Foreign and Commonwealth Office
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| Basis of consideration | EM of 9 December 2011
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| Previous Committee Report | None; but see (32749) —: HC 428-xxvi (2010-12), chapter 12 (11 May 2011) and (32230) —: HC 428-x (2010-12), chapter 20 (8 December 2010)
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| Discussion in Council | December 2011
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared
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Background
EUBAM Rafah
16.1 Following the 15 November 2005 Agreement on Movement and
Access for Gaza between Israel and the Palestinian Authority,
the EU adopted Joint Action 2005/889/CFSP to establish a European
Security and Defence Policy Border Assistance Mission at the Rafah
crossing point between Gaza and Egypt. Whilst active, EUBAM Rafah
facilitated the crossing of over 500,000 people and contributed
to confidence building activity between the parties related to
border control and customs. However, following the Hamas takeover
of the Gaza strip the mission has not been opened since June 2007,
and has been on standby ever since.
16.2 In June 2010, the mission was downsized to 13
international staff; but its scope remained to provide a Third
Party presence at the Rafah Crossing Point in order to contribute,
in cooperation with the Union's institution-building efforts,
to the opening of the Rafah Crossing Point and to build up confidence
between the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
16.3 To this end the mission was tasked to:
— actively
monitor, verify and evaluate the Palestinian Authority's performance
with regard to the implementation of the Framework, Security and
Customs Protocols concluded between the parties on the operation
of the Rafah terminal;
— contribute, through monitoring, to building
up the Palestinian capacity in all aspects of border management
at Rafah;
— contribute to the liaison between the
Palestinians, Israeli and Egyptian authorities in all aspects
regarding the management of the Rafah Crossing Point.
16.4 The Council Decision in question established
costs for the mission at €1.95 million, of which the UK was
to contribute approximately £236,000.
16.5 At that time, the Minister for Europe (Mr David
Lidington) said that:
— the
Government continued to support EUBAM Rafah as a demonstration
of EU political commitment to the Middle East Peace Process and
reactivating EUBAM Rafah as soon as political and security conditions
allowed this;
— the UK had consistently argued for the
mission to be downsized in line with its current standby role,
to a level that retained operational readiness and flexibility;
— the mandate of EUBAM Rafah had not changed,
but the number of international staff had been decreased from
18 to 13, which was the minimum number required to maintain a
mission ready to reactivate quickly if the border were to reopen;
— the border could only be opened with
agreement between Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the United
States, and the mission therefore continued to be on standby;
— EUBAM Rafah might be crucial to implementing
the lifting of restrictions on Gaza when the situation allowed
it;
— the EU would need to stand ready to respond.
16.6 Although the Israel/Palestine situation was
of undoubted importance, this further annual extension of EUBAM
Rafah's mandate, and its sensible adaptation, was not, we felt,
of sufficient political interest in and of itself to warrant a
substantive Report to the House, and was cleared thus at our first
meeting on 8 September 2010.
EUPOL COPPS
16.7 An EU Co-ordinating Office for Palestinian Police
Support (EUPOL COPPS) was established in January 2005 within the
office of the EU Special Representative (EUSR) to the Middle East
Peace Process.[118]
It then consisted of four police advisers seconded and funded
by Sweden, Denmark, the United Kingdom and Spain, and a local
office manager based in the PNA Ministry of Interior in Ramallah,
a liaison office in Jerusalem and a forward office in the Palestinian
Police HQ in Gaza. Non-personnel related start-up and running
costs for EU COPPS were funded by the UK Department for International
Development until 31 December 2005.
16.8 On 2 November 2005, the then Committee cleared
Joint Action 2005/797/CFSP, which, reflecting preparatory work
by the Council Secretariat, including an earlier fact-finding
mission under the guidance of the Political and Security Committee
(PSC),[119] authorised
an ESDP mission that built on the then EU-COPPS police support
mission by increasing staff to 33. The mission, which continued
to be known as EU-COPPS, was launched on 1 January 2006, with
a three-year mandate.
16.9 Against the background of the Israeli withdrawal
from Gaza and some parts of the West Bank, the aim was to find
a way to build on the work of the EU-COPPS and help the Palestine
Authority to fulfil its "security" and "institution-building"
obligations under the so-called Road Map. Although the three year
mandate was longer than normal, it was considered necessary if
the EU was to support the Palestinian National Authority's comprehensive
Police Development Programme, which included both institutional
change and capacity-building, together with "Rule of Law
elements", with the purpose of creating an effective Palestine
police force.
16.10 Although launched with a three year mandate,
decisions on financing are taken annually. When first launched,
the then Minister for Europe said that funding for Common Costs
(HQ, in-country transport, office equipment etc) for 2006 was
expected to be in the region of €6.1 million (then equivalent
to £4.16 million), which would be met in the normal way from
the CFSP budget, to which the UK then contributed approximately
17% (€1.04 million, £0.707 million); and that the cost
of any UK policing expertise contributed to the mission would
come from the Whitehall Peacekeeping Budget (which is a call on
the Treasury's central contingency reserve).
The previous Committee's assessment
16.11 In 2009, the previous Committee noted that
the Mission had clearly come a long way from its modest beginnings
four years earlier, particularly given the difficult circumstances
in which it had been operating, which were far removed from the
hopes surrounding the creation of the "road map" that
defined its purpose.
16.12 They also noted that the UK contribution, and
not just to the common costs, appeared to have been significant
in its achievements thus far — which they felt was plainly
more than could be said of some other Member States.
16.13 With still a year to go of this mandate, they
accepted that the Minister would have been unable to provide a
full assessment of its achievements. However, in a year's time
— whether the mandate was coming to an end, or a further
extension was then proposed — they said that a much fuller
assessment should be provided, i.e., one that gave meaning to
the new architecture for evaluation, lessons learned and best
practices of civilian ESDP operations that was promised at the
end of the Portuguese Presidency two years earlier. The previous
Committee then cleared the document.[120]
16.14 Last November, the Committee considered a Council
Decision that continued the (as it was now styled) EUPOL COPPS
mandate from 1 January 2011 for an additional period of 12 months
until 31 December 2011 and extended its financing for a further
year until 31 December 2011. It described EUPOL COPPS mission
as:
"to contribute to the establishment of sustainable
and effective policing arrangements under Palestinian ownership
in accordance with best international standards, in cooperation
with the Community's institution building programmes as well as
other international efforts in the wider context of Security Sector
including Criminal Justice Reform."
16.15 The Minister for Europe said that funding for
the next year would amount to €8.25million, with an estimated
cost to the UK of around €1.14million.
16.16 The Minister reiterated continuing strong support
for the work of EUPOL COPPS, which he said played an important
role in the international community's efforts to increase the
effectiveness of the Palestinian Authority's police and wider
rule of law institutions and was a key element of the Palestinian
obligations under the Roadmap, a concern for Israel and a necessary
condition for building trust in the negotiating process. He also
talked of it making progress.
Our assessment
16.17 We noted that the uncertain environment in
which EUPOL COPPS had been forced to operate had perhaps militated
against the sort of assessment for which the previous Committee
had pressed, and which had been trumpeted by the Council three
years earlier at the end of Portugal's Presidency. It was nonetheless
difficult notwithstanding what the Minister said about progress,
to get a sense of its achievements. The mission had now been operating
for nearly six years and, by the time this mandate ended, would
have cost some €35 million.
16.18 The Minister talked of still having to "push
for a stronger sense of strategic direction in the mission, as
well as more concrete indicators of progress", and of the
Head of Mission implementing a programme based approach in the
mission for planning work and projects — considerations
that were, we felt, fundamental to any operation, regardless of
the local environment, and which ought surely to have been well-entrenched
by now. Even so, there was a clear assumption that, come the end
of 2011, there would be a further mandate extension, and a staff
increase in the meantime, when the Minister promised a further
Explanatory Memorandum. So, either then, or when the presumed
mandate extension was proposed, the Committee again urged the
Minister to provide something more substantial than hitherto to
illustrate what €35 million of European taxpayers' money
had achieved, beyond a sense of involvement; and also to know
which Member States other than the UK were engaged in the Mission's
work (a year earlier, the then Minister for Europe had indicated
that others were not pulling their weight, which the present Minister
did not mention at all).
16.19 We cleared the draft document,[121]
which was duly adopted as Council Decision 2010/784/CFSP of 17
December 2010.
Further developments on EUBAM Rafah
16.20 On 11 May 2011 we considered a draft of a further
Council Decision extending the mandate of EUBAM Rafah for seven
months until 31 December 2011, and providing funding for the mission
until 31 December 2011 of €1.4 million to cover personnel
costs, running costs and liquidation costs (in the case of closure
by the end 2011).
16.21 In his Explanatory Memorandum of 9 May 2011,
the Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington) said that in this
latest Decision:
— the
scope of the mission remained the same:
"to provide a Third Party presence at the
Rafah Crossing Point in order to contribute, in cooperation with
the Union's institution-building efforts, to the opening of the
Rafah Crossing Point and to build up confidence between the Government
of Israel and the Palestinian Authority";
— the
original three mission tasks remained unaltered;
— the UK has secured the addition of the
following task to increase EUBAM Rafah's operational value during
this extension:
"To assist EUPOL COPPS (the EU Policing
Mission in the Palestinian Territories) in its additional tasks
in the area of training of PA border and crossing management staff
for Gaza crossings."
16.22 With regard to the financial aspects, the Minister
said that the mission costs of €1.4 million would be found
from within the existing 2011CFSP allocation, and that an indicative
UK contribution to the increase would be around €210,000
(£187,000).
16.23 The Minister went on to reiterate his support
for EUBAM Rafah as a demonstration of EU political commitment
to the Middle East Peace Process and his commitment to reactivating
EUBAM Rafah as soon as political and security conditions allowed.
16.24 He recalled that, following the Gaza Flotilla
incident on 31 May 2010, the Government of Israel announced on
20 June 2010 that restrictions on Gaza would be eased, and continued
as follows:
"Despite some progress following this decision,
changes on the ground have been limited and insufficient so far.
The UK remains extremely concerned by the prevailing situation
in Gaza. The Foreign Secretary has called for the immediate, sustained
and unconditional opening of crossings for the flow of humanitarian
aid, commercial goods and persons to and from Gaza. We see the
implementation of Baroness Ashton's 'three-pronged' package on
Gaza, which includes the training of Palestinian border officials,
as essential for this."
16.25 The Minister considered it important that the
EU retained its link to the 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access
and supported EUBAM Rafah's role as a third party presence at
Rafah. Nonetheless, he said, he had shared his concern about the
value for money of a mission on standby, pushed for the EU to
ensure that it was making best use of resources and, in February
2011, had secured agreement on what he described as two important
points for the future, related to a more efficient use of resources:
"That the Crisis Management and Planning
Directorate will conduct a strategic review of wider CSDP engagement
in the region, with a view to a possible merger of EUPOL COPPS
and EUBAM Rafah at the end of 2011. The UK believes that a merger
of the missions could allow for a much more efficient use of resources
in future, and will scrutinise the review findings in this light
and;
"That, pending a possible merger, EUBAM
Rafah's resources (staff and assets) can be used by EUPOL COPPS,
particularly for planning and conducting training of PA staff
for Gaza crossings."
16.26 This is why, the Minister said, it had been
proposed that EUBAM Rafah's mandate be extended until 31 December
2011, to align it with the mandate expiration of EUPOL COPPS and
allow time for the strategic review and preparation for any merger;
and why the UK had secured the additional task in the Council
Decision on use of the mission's resources by EUPOL COPPS in the
meantime.
16.27 The Minister also said that, given the UK's
commitment to reactivating EUBAM Rafah as soon as political and
security conditions allow, he was also following with interest
Egyptian indications on opening Rafah, and any role for EUBAM
Rafah that might arise.
Our assessment
16.28 While it would have been premature
to pass judgement prior to the completion of the review, we nonetheless
welcomed the decision to carry it out. We looked forward to hearing
from the Minister about its outcome, and to his views on the extent
to which it had informed what was eventually put forward at the
end of the year about the two missions' future. In the meantime,
we asked him to do what he could to ensure that the review not
only looked to the future but also included an assessment of what
had been achieved in relation to the considerable expenditure
thus far.
16.29 We also cleared the Council Decision.[122]
The latest Council Decisions
16.30 In his Explanatory Memorandum of 9 December
2011, the Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington) says that,
following a strategic review by the Crisis Management and Planning
Directorate of the European External Action Service, Member States
have been asked to agree a phased merger of the two CSDP Missions
in the Palestinian Territories.
16.31 He explains that:
—
these Council Decisions set out the first phase of this merger,
i.e., the extension of the two Missions until 30 June 2012 with
immediate merger of some jobs and reduction in the size of EUBAM
Rafah's headquarters in Ashkelon;
— the Council Decision for EUPOL COPPS
also implements a 20% staff increase agreed by Member States in
principle last year, but delayed pending further information on
costs and approval from the Government of Israel, which had now
been received;
— the budget includes costs of larger premises
in Ramallah to house these new staff;
— the final Council Decisions will provide
funding for EUBAM Rafah of €970,000 and EUPOL COPPS of €4.75
million for this six month period.
The Government's view
16.32 The Minister goes on to say that the strategic
review of the EU's CSDP work in Israel and the occupied Palestinian
Territories has been a UK priority for over a year, noting that
at the time of the last extension of EUPOL COPPS in December last
year, and the extension of EUBAM Rafah in May this year, Parliament,
officials and Ministers agreed that a review must take place before
the UK could agree further CSDP action in the region.
16.33 The Minister also notes that, although the
work of EUPOL COPPS to support the Palestinian Authorities' development
of their rule of law capabilities was welcomed and praised, concerns
were raised by all about the continued inaction of EUBAM Rafah
and the lack of strategic cohesion to the EU's work.
16.34 The Minister then continues as follows:
"During the course of the year, the events
unfolding across the Middle East have served to further underline
to the UK the need for EU action to reflect the changing circumstances
in the region. Furthermore, the Egyptians formally opened the
Rafah crossing on 28 May 2011 although passage remains limited
to foot traffic, restrictions on men between the ages of 18 and
40 apply and delays and refusals are common for Gazans trying
to leave or enter the Gaza Strip.
"The UK has been pressing for progress on
the strategic review since early this year. In October we insisted
that the review be completed before any further decisions on the
Missions' future. We sympathised that the review had been made
more difficult due to the upheaval in the region and the uncertainty
over the Palestinian Authority's bid for statehood and possible
consequences, but could not condone a status quo outcome.
"The strategic review issued in late October
and recommended a phased merger of the two missions over six months
with a combined mission under one Head emerging at the beginning
of July. The delay to the review meant that the work to prepare
a merger could not be completed by the end of December. But we
judge that the proposed outcome will update the EU's engagement
in the region and enable the EU to continue potentially to play
a constructive (and low-cost) role on MEPP complementing UK policy
priorities. It would also deliver further cost reductions through
a merger.
"We acknowledge that the complexity of the
regional context means that negotiation of the exact arrangements
with our hosts and among Member States will be complicated. There
is a risk that the full merger may not be completed by the end
of June but I will keep the Committees informed of progress. Officials
will work with the EEAS to keep progress on track but also to
make it clear that other options will have to be pursued if a
merger proves impossible.
"In the wake of the release of Gilad Shalit,[123]
there is also a possibility that political conditions related
to the Rafah crossing may improve. The UK and the EU continue
to maintain that the Palestinian Authority is the legitimate authority
in Gaza. If achievable, EUBAM Rafah's redeployment to fulfil its
original mandate could help the Palestinian Authority to regain
a foothold at Rafah. However we will continue to push towards
merger on the basis that an inoperative mission does not represent
good value for money, no matter how small."
16.35 The Minister then turns to the budgetary aspects:
"The UK, supported by Germany and the Netherlands
succeeded in having three international posts and one locally-based
position designated as shared between the two Missions.
"Instead of these posts being replicated
in both Missions as was the case until now, the personnel based
in EUPOL COPPS will be designated as serving both Missions and
the headcount of EUBAM Rafah will be reduced accordingly from
13 international and 10 local to 10 international and 9 local
staff. As a consequence the Head Quarters in Ashkelon will also
be reduced from three floors plus storage area to two floors.
These early mutualisation savings result in the 19% pro rata decrease
in the budget for EUBAM Rafah.
"The €4.75m for EUPOL COPPS for 6 months
represents a pro rata increase of €650,000 (15%) on last
year. We consider that this increase is justified, however, since
the Mission will increase its staffing levels as requested to
Member States in July 2010[124]
(and limited to essential levels by the UK) and the increase arises
from increased staffing costs and a move to larger premises in
Ramallah. This increase was agreed by Member States in principle
last year but had been delayed pending further cost information
and approval from the Government of Israel, now received.
a. "Net increase of staffing costs (per
diems, salaries) of €315,000.
b. "Refurbishment of the new building, costs
of the move and the need to pay for both premises for one month
while the transfer occurs increase the running costs by €240,000.
c. "Expansion of the vehicle fleet and mobile
phone contracts to cover these staff has led to an increase in
these running costs of €105,000.
"These increases are partially offset by
reductions elsewhere in the budget leaving a net increase of €650,000.
"The Decisions establish costs for the missions
at €5.6 million, €2.8m of which will be found from within
the existing CFSP allocation for 2011 and €2.9m of which
will come from the agreed CFSP budget for 2012. This will not
therefore entail additional costs for the UK above what we contribute
to the EU budget overall.
"As an indication of the cost to the UK,
based on our approximate contribution of 15% to the 2011 EU budget
and the euro-sterling exchange rate for December 2011 the approximate
UK contribution would be £730,000."
16.36 The Minister concludes by noting that these
Decisions are expected to be agreed by written procedure in late
December 2011 once approval from the Palestinian Authority and
the Government of Israel is received.
Conclusion
16.37 The basis of these Council Decisions is
self-explanatory, and they raise no questions.
16.38 However, as the Minister notes, this is
only the first phase, and a degree of uncertainty surrounds both
the timing and the shape of the second phase. For now, we commend
him for the part he has played thus far in driving forward the
process of securing greater strategic cohesion to the EU's work
in support of the Palestinian Authorities' development at lower
cost. Beyond that, we look forward to hearing more about developments
in due course, as promised by the Minister. When he writes to
us, we ask that he also says something about the extent to which
the review process considered not just the future, but also provided
an assessment of what has been achieved in relation to the considerable
expenditure thus far, in line with the new architecture for evaluation,
lessons learned and best practices of civilian ESDP operations
that was promised at the end of the Portuguese Presidency (compare
with paragraphs 16.13 and 16.28 above).
16.39 We now clear the documents.
118 EU Special Representatives (EUSR) 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, to represent
the EU in troubled regions and countries and play an active part
in promoting the interests and the policies of the EU. Back
119
The committee of senior officials from national delegations who,
under article 25 of the EU Treaty, monitor the international situation
in areas covered by the CFSP and, under the general responsibility
of the Council, exercise political control and strategic direction
of crisis management operations. Back
120
See headnote: (31173) -: HC 5-iii (2009-10), chapter 18 (9 December
2009). Back
121
See headnote: see (32230) -: HC 428-x (2010-11), chapter 20 (8
December 2010). Back
122
See headnote: (32749) -: HC 428-xxvi (2010-12), chapter 12 (11
May 2011). Back
123
Sgt Gilad Shalit was a 19-year-old IDF tank crewman when he was
captured in June 2006. He was released by Hamas in October 2011
as part of a prisoner exchange agreement (Israel freed 477 Palestinian
prisoners, allowing most to go back to Gaza and the West Bank,
in return for his release; the deal will eventually see a total
of 1,027 prisoners freed). Back
124
Agreed by Ministers following EEPD's submission of 23 November
2010 and covered the EM of 24 November 2010 and in an informal
evidence session with the House of Lords sub-Committee C on 2
December 2010. Back
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