Annex: 19 November 2014 Foreign Affairs (Defence)
Council Conclusions
"1. Europe's security environment is evolving
significantly, rapidly and dramatically. Ongoing conflicts and
instability in our immediate and wider neighbourhood, such as
in Iraq, Libya, the Sahel, Syria and Ukraine, remain a particular
cause for great concern. Together with long standing and newly
emerging security challenges, these developments may have longer
term effects on European security and international peace and
stability. They demonstrate also the close links between internal
and external security dimensions. Therefore, in line with the
December 2013 European Council Conclusions, the Council reiterates
the invitation to the High Representative, in close cooperation
with the Commission, to assess the impact of changes in the global
environment, and to report to the Council in the course of 2015
on the challenges and opportunities arising for the Union, following
consultations with the Member States.
"2. The Council furthermore reiterates the urgent
need of enabling the EU and its Member States to assume increased
responsibilities to act as a security provider, at the international
level and in particular in the neighbourhood, thereby also enhancing
their own security and their global strategic role by responding
to these challenges together. The EU and its Member States, through
the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) and other policies
and instruments, have a strong role to play through its unique
comprehensive approach to preventing and managing conflicts and
their causes. Moreover, the Council stresses that protecting and
promoting European interests and values will increasingly require
the EU and its Member States combining their efforts, underpinned
by the necessary means and sufficient budgetary resources. The
Council reaffirms its commitment to strengthen CSDP, in line with
the Conclusions from the European Council of December 2013 and
its own Conclusions of November 2013.
"3. The Council emphasises the importance of
working with its partners, in particular the UN, NATO, OSCE, and
African Union, as well as strategic partners and other partner
countries, within its neighbourhood and more globally, with due
respect to the institutional framework and decision-making autonomy
of the EU. It notes that priority should be given to cooperation
with partners who share with the EU common values and principles
and are able and willing to support EU crisis management efforts.
The Council welcomes relevant outcomes of NATO's Wales Summit
in September 2014. It also reaffirms its support to the further
implementation of the EU plan of Action for CSDP support to UN
peacekeeping and of the Declaration of the EU-Africa Summit of
2014.
"4. In line with the European Council Conclusions
of December 2013 on security and defence, the Council reiterates
the need to enhance the effectiveness of CSDP and the development
and maintenance of Member States' capabilities, supported by a
more integrated, sustainable, innovative and competitive European
Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB), which also
contributes to jobs, growth and innovation across the EU and can
enhance Europe's strategic autonomy, strengthening its ability
to act with partners. This requires systematic cooperation and
coordination within the EU and among its Member States, underlining
the importance of addressing the need to sustain sufficient expenditures
related to security and defence, and coherent and effective use
of EU instruments and policies.
"5. Emphasising the contribution of the CSDP
missions and operations to international peace and stability,
the Council welcomes the deployment, in 2014, of the CSDP military
bridging operation in the Central African Republic (EUFOR RCA),
the civilian CSDP mission in Ukraine (EUAM Ukraine), which today
the Council has decided to launch, and the progress made towards
launching a civilian mission in Mali (EUCAP SAHEL Mali). The Council
welcomes as well the ongoing action by the other nine civilian
CSDP missions and four military CSDP operations across three continents.[76]
The Council notes with satisfaction that throughout these missions
and operations particular attention was given to supporting human
rights, as well as to implementing UN Security Council Resolution
1325, thus promoting core values of the EU. The Council recognises
the need for common approaches with the UN in the Central African
Republic in the reform of the security forces, including the armed
forces, in order to stabilise the situation in support of the
political process. In this regard, it acknowledges the added value
of a potential further EU role in the reform of the security sector,
in support of UN efforts, while ensuring local buy-in, and calls
in this context for the development of a crisis management concept.
"6. Today, the Council:
— agreed on next steps regarding the initiative
to support capacity building of partner countries and regional
organisations in order to enable them to increasingly prevent
and manage crises by themselves, inviting the High Representative
and the Commission to present, in view of the European Council
in June 2015, a joint proposal for a policy approach for concrete
implementation. This policy should take into account the role
and competence of Member States and propose suitable coordination
and funding mechanisms, on the basis of shared needs assessments
and risk analyses. Stressing the flexible geographical scope of
the initiative, it notes that the development of this policy should
draw on the identified pilot cases on Mali and Somalia, which
should be developed by early 2015, as well as the follow up on
the Conclusions of the European Council of March 2014 regarding
the need to strengthen the African Peace and Security Architecture;
— adopted the EU Cyber Defence Policy Framework,
which focuses on: supporting the development of Member States
cyber defence capabilities related to CSDP; enhancing the protection
of CSDP communication networks used by EU entities; promoting
civil-military cooperation and synergies with wider EU cyber policies,
relevant EU institutions and agencies as well as with the private
sector; improving training, education and exercises opportunities;
and enhancing cooperation with relevant international partners;
adopted a Policy Framework for Systematic and Long-Term Defence
Cooperation. In view of deepening cooperation in Europe, this
Policy Framework will guide the cooperative approaches of Member
States, through their national decision making processes, when
developing defence capabilities. In line with the European Council
Conclusions, it has been put forward in full coherence with existing
NATO planning processes;
— agreed the Progress Catalogue 2014, which
provides an assessment of the critical military shortfalls resulting
from the Headline Goal process and their impact on CSDP; these
shortfalls are integrated into the revised Capability Development
Plan agreed by the Steering Board of the European Defence Agency,
which should support and orientate national capability planning,
identify the capabilities required and seize collaborative opportunities.
"7. Furthermore, the Council welcomes further
progress made in implementing the Conclusions of the European
Council, as reported in the High Representative report of July
and the Commission roadmap of June, and encourages further work
on all outstanding issues in view of the preparation of the European
Council in June 2015. In this context, the Council highlights
in particular:
— the implementation of EU's Comprehensive
Approach, as set out in the Council conclusions of May 2014, including
through the development of an Action Plan before the end of the
first quarter of 2015;
— the adoption of the cross sectorial EU
Maritime Security Strategy by the Council in June 2014 and its
ongoing translation into concrete actions, mainstreaming maritime
security into EU policies and strategies, and, inter alia, promoting
enhanced common situational awareness and better sharing of information
for the EU and its Member States, through an Action Plan to be
agreed by the end of 2014;
— the ongoing work on training, rapid response,
interoperability and the security and protection of deployed personnel;
— the development of CSDP concrete support
to border management in the Sahel-Saharan region as part of the
Action Plan implementing the EU Sahel Strategy;
— strengthening the links between external
and internal security, notably through a more structured approach
to cooperation between the CSDP missions and operations and Freedom/Security/Justice
actors, notably the EU Agencies (EUROPOL, FRONTEX and CEPOL) and
with INTERPOL as well as strengthening links with the European
Gendarmerie Force. This will, inter alia, help to address important
horizontal issues such as illegal migration, organised crime,
terrorism, foreign fighters and cyber security;
— the importance of revisiting the priority
areas identified at Feira European Council and fully implementing
the Civilian Capability Development Plan and further developing
tools to help address identified gaps, including by finalising
the Goalkeeper project and establishing a list of generic civilian
CSDP tasks;
— the ongoing deliberations looking into
the full potential of the use of Article 44 TEU;
— the added value provided by the activated
EU Operations Centre, in line with its mandate as revisited, as
well as the renewed mandates of the EU Satellite Centre and the
European Security and Defence College;
— the need to urgently take work forward
on establishing a Shared Services Centre, in order to realise
greater efficiencies and rationalise the provision of mission
support functions to civilian CSDP missions and improve their
early deployment and effective conduct.
"8. The Council welcomes the results achieved
by the European Defence Agency (EDA) in 2014, in particular its
contribution to fulfilling the taskings from Council in November
and the European Council in December 2013.
"9. The Council welcomes the progress achieved
by Member States with the support of EDA in Pooling & Sharing
projects and programmes, notably in the four key projects endorsed
by the European Council in December 2013: Air-to-Air Refuelling,
Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems, Governmental Satellite Communications,
and Cyber Defence. The Council encourages the Agency to continue
to identify opportunities for cooperation on defence capabilities
on the basis of the recently revised Capability Development Plan;
and to support cooperative projects through enablers and incentives.
In this context, it notes the progressing work on non-market distorting
fiscal measures and pooled procurement, in close coordination
with Member States, ahead of the June 2015 European Council. The
Council encourages synergies where possible with EU policies and
instruments in support of programmes and incentives.
"10. The Council encourages the Agency to continue
supporting the engagement of Member States with the Commission
on relevant issues. The Council welcomes the Commission's work
on the Preparatory Action on CSDP-related research, bringing together
Member States, EDA and EEAS, which could lead to a wider research
programme in support of CSDP, and calls for further progress.
The Council welcomes the Agency's role in supporting participating
Member States in addressing the possible implications for defence
of other EU policies, including potentially acting as the military
interface for the implementation of the Single European Sky (SES)
and the Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research (SESAR)
for the military domain, and the European Space Policy. The Council
reiterates the need to maximise dual-use synergies in Research
& Technology, in line with the December 2013 European Council
conclusions.
"11. Underlining the importance of the EDTIB,
the Council welcomes the EDA's and Commission's actions to: (i)
improve security of supply, notably through the development by
the Commission, working with the Member States and in cooperation
with the High Representative and the EDA, of a roadmap for a comprehensive
EU-wide security of supply regime; (ii) support Small and Medium-Sized
Enterprises in the security and defence sector including access
to EU funding programmes and cross border markets, including through
the establishment of an advisory group; and (iii) improve cost-effectiveness
and efficiency in the European security and defence market; and
(iv) support the European technological and industrial base, including
to enhance its competitiveness in the global market. The Council
recalls that these efforts should be inclusive with opportunities
for defence industry in the EU, balanced and in full compliance
with EU law.
"12. The Council underlines that its conclusions
concerning the enhancement of military capability development
and strengthening defence industry addressed to the EDA constitute
the Council guidelines for EDA for its work in 2015, within the
context of the Council decision defining the statute, seat and
operating rules of EDA (Council Decision 2011/411/CFSP of 12 July
2011).
"13. In May 2015, the Council will adopt conclusions
on CSDP in view of enabling the European Council to take stock
of progress and provide further guidance in June 2015. To this
end, it invites the Commission, the High Representative and the
EDA to report on progress and provide their detailed input by
April 2015."
76 EUBAM Libya; EUBAM Rafah; EUCAP Nestor; EUCAP SAHEL
Niger; EUFOR Althea; EULEX Kosovo; EUMM Georgia; EUNAVFOR Atalanta;
EUPOL Afghanistan; EUPOL COPPS; EUSEC RD Congo; EUTM Somalia and
EUTM Mali. Back
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