11 EU and Georgia: EU Monitoring Mission
| Committee's assessment
| Politically important |
| Committee's decision | Cleared from scrutiny; further information requested
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| Document details | Council decision on further mandate for the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia
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| Legal base | Articles 28, 42(4) and 43(2) TEU; unanimity
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| Department | Foreign and Commonwealth Office
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| Document numbers | (36522), —
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Summary and Committee's conclusions
11.1 The EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM Georgia)
was first established in 2008 in the immediate aftermath of the
Russia-Georgia conflict, as part of the so-called Sarkozy-Medvedev
Agreements of 12 August and 8 September 2008. Following that conflict,
Russia recognised Abkhazia (ABK) and South Ossetia (SO) as independent,
provoking the worst crisis between Moscow and the West since the
ending of the Soviet Union.
11.2 The previous and present Committee's initial
and further consideration of EUMM Georgia is fully summarised
in our Report of 5 September 2012 and detailed in the others referred
to therein.[57]
11.3 The Mission's main tasks are Stabilisation,
Confidence Building, Normalisation and advice regarding EU Policy.
At least 200 monitors uphold the political commitment that the
EU gave to provide a credible, visible and effective monitoring
presence along the Administrative Boundary Lines (ABL). The EU
has continued throughout this period to push for EUMM to have
access to the breakaway regions, but the authorities in ABK and
SO have yet to agree.
11.4 This draft Council Decision proposes the renewal
of the EUMM mandate for two years from 16 December 2014 until
15 December 2016 as well as setting out just over €18 million
of funding for this period (a reduction of c. €3,000,000).
This Decision makes no significant changes to the mandate of the
mission.
11.5 The Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington)
supports this further extension, which stems from a European External
Action Service (EEAS) strategic review, the main conclusion of
which was that EUMM Georgia's position as the only international
actor on the ground is now all the more important, given the wider
political context of Russia's actions in Ukraine/Crimea. He says
that renewing the mandate would be an important signal of EU support
to Georgia at a time when the country is concerned about the potential
for punitive Russian actions against it. EUMM, he says, continues
to play a vital role in stabilising and providing security to
the region (e.g. successfully managing tensions last autumn in
the period around the Presidential elections, and earlier this
year ahead of and during the Sochi Winter Olympics) and in facilitating
activities near the Administrative Boundary Lines by informing
all parties in a timely, credible and reliable manner (see paragraphs
11.19-11.25 below for full details).
11.6 The Minister also again underlines the region's
significance for the UK's prosperity and energy security goals:
BP has a 25.5% stake in the Shah Deniz Consortium (SDC) and is
the current operator of the Shah Deniz I gas field in Azerbaijan,
one of the world's largest gas condensate fields; the SDC are
looking to invest substantially to extend the field to supply
gas to the EU and to expand the South Caucasus Pipeline (Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey);
Georgia thus remains a vital transit route for Azerbaijani oil
and gas.
11.7 On 24 November, Russia's President Putin
and Abkhazia's leader signed, in Sochi, a "strategic partnership"
agreement which (according to press reports) includes a grant
of 5 billion roubles (€90 million) and easing requirements
for Abkhazia's 240,000 residents to obtain Russian citizenship;
and envisages a "joint defence and security space",
stipulates Russian "protection of the state border of the
Republic of Abkhazia with Georgia", and obliges Russia to
facilitate "in every possible way" Abkhazia's international
ties and promote its global recognition. Those same reports cite
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg as saying that this "so-called
treaty" did not contribute to a peaceful and lasting settlement
of the situation in Georgia, and that the Western alliance would
not recognise it; and EU High Representative Federica Mogherini
saying that the agreement violated Georgia's sovereignty and territorial
integrity and was "detrimental to ongoing efforts to stabilise
the security situation in the region."[58]
Georgia's Foreign Minister is said to have denounced the move
as having infringed Georgia's territorial integrity, as "a
step towards annexation of Abkhazia by the Russian Federation",
and as having "a negative impact on the security situation
in Georgia's occupied territories as well as in the broader context
of European security". Georgia's President, Georgy Margvelashvili,
is also said to have called the agreement "absurd and illogical".[59]
11.8 Not surprisingly, there is now also speculation
as to whether a similar move will be made with respect to South
Ossetia.
11.9 The case for this further extension of EUMM's
mandate would have been compelling without this latest development,
which the Minister foresaw, but which had yet to be signed at
the time of his Explanatory Memorandum. Nonetheless, the Minister
is right also to emphasise the need to continue to evaluate closely
the impact of EUMM throughout the course of the mandate, and in
saying that it should "remain flexible and appropriate for
its operating environment, whilst remaining value for money".
We therefore ask him to inform us of the outcome of the mid-term
review at the end of 2015, and provide details of its underlying
rationale.
11.10 In the meantime, we now clear the Council
Decision.
Full details of the documents:
Council Decision amending Joint Action 2010/452/CFSP on the European
Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM Georgia): (36522), —.
Background
11.11 The extant Council Decision extended its mandate
until 14 December 2014, and allocated €26,650,000 of funding.
No significant changes were made to the mandate of the mission:
EUMM Georgia was therefore to continue to monitor the terms of
the 12 August and 8 September 2008 ceasefire agreements and implementing
measures, and contribute to the long term stability of Georgia
and the South Caucasus as a whole.
11.12 At that time, the Minister for Europe noted
various ways in which EUMM Georgia had continued to help to maintain
stability. However, relations with the de facto authorities
of ABK and SO continued to be difficult following the Abkhaz refusal
to allow the EUMM Head of Mission (HoM) access to its IPRM (Incident
Prevention and Reporting Mechanism) meetings, which had consequently
been suspended since April 2012: but he had left post in June,
and once a new HoM was in place, the Minister saw an opportunity
for the ABK IPRM to be reinstated in the next few months.
11.13 Looking forward, Russia was taking "an
activist approach on security issues" in the area in the
run-up to the Winter Olympics (close to the border with ABK) and
continuing to consolidate its military presence in the breakaway
regions and to "borderise" the ABL. The new Georgian
government was pursuing a policy of limited engagement with Russia.
However, Georgia's insistence on its territorial integrity and
commitment to NATO membership remained red lines for Russia. Internally,
there had been a tense and difficult political cohabitation
between President Saakashvili and a new government. The months
leading up to the Georgian Presidential elections in October 2013
were likely to remain tense. A continued EUMM presence would help
to diffuse possible tensions during these periods of heightened
sensitivity.
11.14 Following the Sochi Winter Games, a Strategic
Review was to be presented to the EU's Political and Security
Committee[60] during
Spring 2014: it would be "comprehensive in nature, providing
a thorough assessment of the functions of the mission and potential
changes taking into account post-Sochi political and security
developments which may impact on the operational environment of
the EUMM".
11.15 All in all, notwithstanding the constraints
within which it had had to operate, the Minister noted that EUMM
Georgia remained the only international actor on the ground and
would continue to contribute to Georgia's security and stability;
the proposed extension period of 15 months was a compromise successfully
brokered by the UK (some Member States favoured 24 months), which
the Minister judged would be sufficient time to cover a period
of potentially difficult events, properly assess Russia's approach
to the region post-Sochi and carry out a detailed analysis of
the Strategic Review on the future of the mission.
11.16 Although it raised no questions in and of itself,
we drew this further mandate extension to the attention of the
House because the Minister's thorough exposition of the Mission's
work and of the context in which it operates clearly demonstrated
its value in a region of growing strategic significance to both
the UK and the EU as a whole.[61]
The Minister's letter of 7 July 2014
11.17 The Minister wrote to say that, in view of
developments in the region, the strategic review of the EUMM recommended
that:
¾ "the mandate be extended for two
years (i.e. up to December 2016);
¾ "it continues to focus on the core
tasks mentioned above;
¾ "it should maintain its current headcount
for now (401 in total, 272 international and 129 local) given
the wider political context of Russia's actions in Ukraine/Crimea;
¾ "there should be further strengthening
of its cooperation and coordination with all EU instruments and
Member States as well as other actors engaged in Georgia and conflict
resolution;
¾ "the structure of the Mission should
be kept under review and the Head of Mission should make proposals
to update it as appropriate; and
¾ "the next Strategic Review should
be held mid-mandate (i.e. around the end of 2015).
"The Government is content with the outcome
of discussions on the Strategic Review and is minded to agree
to the mandate extension at the end of 2014 on the terms set out
above. Renewing the mandate would be an important signal of EU
support to Georgia at time when the country is concerned about
the potential for punative Russian actions against it.
"The EUMM continues to play a vital role
in stabilising and providing security to the region, for example
successfully managing tensions last autumn in the period around
the Presidential elections, and earlier this year ahead of and
during the Sochi Winter Olympics. It also continues to play a
vital role in facilitating activities near the Administrative
Boundary Lines by informing all parties in a timely, credible
and reliable manner. This allows, for example, works on utilities
to go ahead which directly benefits local populations.
"A new Head (Toivo Klaar, Estonia) and Deputy
Head (Ryan Grist, UK) have had a positive impact on the work of
the EUMM, although relations with the de facto authorities
in the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia continue
to be difficult. Ongoing lack of access to the breakaway regions
continues to be a major constraint towards full implementation
of the Mission's mandate. The EU continues to push for the EUMM
to have access to the breakaway regions, although other parties
involved have yet to agree.
"In addition we continue to support and
argue for the EUMM Head of Mission and the EEAS to regularly review
the structure and staffing numbers of the mission, in order to
maximise the impact of existing resources and identify efficiency
savings."
The draft Council Decision
11.18 This draft Council Decision proposes the renewal
of the mandate of the EUMM in Georgia for two years from 16 December
2014 until 15 December 2016 as well as setting out just over €18
million of funding for this period. It proposes no significant
changes to the mandate of the mission.
The Government's view
11.19 In his Explanatory Memorandum of 25 November
2014, the Minister for Europe says that the EUMM has also continued
to facilitate discussions and pragmatic solutions to issues affecting
communities living in areas adjacent to ABK and SO, such as rehabilitating
irrigation channels, granting a farmer access to his land or allowing
for medical evacuations; and through the hotline,[62]
has "succeeded to accommodate the release of prisoners who
have been unjustly detained over ABL border violations and has
shared information exchanges about missing persons".
11.20 However, the Minister says:
"relations with the de facto authorities
of ABK and SO continue to be difficult following the Abkhaz refusal
to allow the EUMM Head of Mission (HoM), Toivo Klaar access to
its IPRM meetings which have been suspended since April 2012.
While the EUMM continues to liaise with all parties through the
hotline and the Geneva discussions, the absence of IPRM meetings
with ABK and access to the breakaway regions is a major constraint
towards full mandate implementation."
11.21 The Minister supports an extension of EUMM
"as the presence of the Mission reduces the risk of future
conflict including through confidence building, objective reporting,
fact-finding, and its contributions to the Geneva Talks and through
local dialogue". To demonstrate the continuing impact of
the EUMM, the Minister summarises its actions in three circumstances:
· "The EUMM has facilitated the use
of the hotline to help deal with serious medical cases. The breakaway
regions mainly have poor medical facilities so the EUMM helped
facilitate, with the de-facto authorities, the transfer of these
cases to Zugdidi to get urgent medical treatment. They have also
helped put local organisations in touch with e.g. international
donors to help secure funding to help develop better services;
· "The EUMM has signed MoUs with the
Georgian MoD and Ministry of Interior to agree the scope of the
Ministries' activities, for example the areas they should and
should not go to and, where possible, for police rather than army
to be deployed. This helped facilitate a change in posture from
Russia who changed their border guards from military to civilian
officers. This has also allowed the EUMM to develop good relations
with the Georgian police;
· "The reporting period, marked by
the Sochi Olympic Winter Games, passed without significant incident
in the theatre, which remained relatively stable. The EUMM dealt
well with the increase in security actors along the Administrative
boundary lines (ABL) and played a key role in passing information
to avoid additional tensions. EUMM's monitoring of the Memoranda
of Understanding with the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs
and Ministry of Defence enabled continuous transparency and directly
contributed to regional stability."
11.22 Looking ahead, the Minister says:
"Georgia is likely to face continued Russian
pressure as Russia consolidates its military presence, takes further
measures to demarcate the boundary between Georgia and the breakaway
regions and potentially to shut down a large number of the crossing
points. This situation has been heightened by the proposed new
"Treaty" between Russia and Abkahzia which seeks to
formalise their relationship in the political, economic, military
and social spheres. It is likely a similar document with South
Ossetia will follow. The Georgian Government is pursuing a policy
of limited engagement with Russia, however this could be strained
by recent developments. Tensions within the Georgian Government
were also apparent in early November when the Defence Minister
was sacked and two other Ministers, including the Foreign Minister
resigned."
11.23 Operationally, the Minister says:
"Following the most recent Strategic Review
by the Crisis Management and Planning Directorate to the Political
and Security Committee, there has been agreement that the mandate
of the EUMM should be extended for two years given that it is
unlikely that tensions in the region will reduce in the short/medium
term and due to the deep-rooted nature of the conflict. However
there is a general view that the Mission could reduce its level
of monitoring whilst maintaining its effectiveness. This would
be welcomed by much of the local population who have become frustrated
by the frequency of monitoring, which does not result in any qualitative
improvements. As well as continuing with its core tasks, the Mission
will also look to:
· "strengthen its co-ordination mechanisms
with the EU Special Representative and the EU Delegation in Georgia;
· "further develop mechanisms to coordinate
approaches to conflict- related issues especially preparations
of the Geneva Talks and IPRMs;
· "strengthen media and information
operations, including regular, non-classified information on EUMM
briefings from monitoring that should contribute to transparency
and increased understanding in the conflict zones and across the
ABLs.
"The EUMM is part of a comprehensive EU
approach to Georgia and remains the only international actor on
the ground in Georgia and will continue to contribute to Georgia's
security and stability. The exit strategy of EUMM is currently
based on successful conflict resolution processes (linked, among
other things, to the implementation of the Six Point Agreement
in the long term) and in the context of a coherent and strategic
EU approach to conflict resolution in Georgia."
11.24 Finally, with regard to the significance of
Georgia to UK interests, the Minister reiterates its importance
to BP and in the transit route for Azerbaijani oil and gas, and
says:
"The UK continues to support Georgia with
its democratic transition, particularly through regular and intensive
inward and outward Ministerial visits. The Rt Hon William Hague
MP visited Georgia in May 2014 and agreed to hold a regular high
level dialogue with the Georgians. On 19 November the Georgian
Foreign Minister visited London for the first UK/Georgia Dialogue,
covering foreign policy, security and international defence and
prosperity issues. At the dialogue, the Georgians assured of their
continued support for Euro-Atlantic integration. We welcomed Georgia's
signature of the EU Association Agreement and Deep and Comprehensive
Free Trade Area and urged the government to ensure that corruption
investigations against prominent members of the opposition were
transparent and followed due process."
11.25 Finally, with regard to the Financial Implications,
the Minister says that the €18,300,000 budget for the period
16 December 2014-15 December 2015 reflects some restructuring
of the Mission to reduce unnecessary staffing, and should come
in at approximately €3,000,000 less than the previous year.
The Minister provides a comprehensive breakdown of the budget
proposal (which is set out in the table at the Annex to this chapter
of our Report), and concludes by saying:
"UK officials will continue to evaluate
closely the impact of EUMM throughout the course of the mandate,
which should remain flexible and appropriate for its operating
environment, whilst remaining value for money."
Previous Committee Reports
None, but see (35188), —: Thirteenth Report
HC 83-xiii (2013-14), chapter 46 (4 September 2013) and (34144),
—: Eleventh Report HC 86-xi (2012-13), chapter 22 (5 September
2012).
57 See Eleventh Report HC 86-xi (2012-13), chapter 22
(5 September 2012). Back
58
See http://eeas.europa.eu/statements-eeas/2014/141124_01_en.htm
for the High Representative's statement. Back
59
See Euractiv of 25 November 2014 at: http://www.euractiv.com/sections/europes-east/georgia-cries-fouls-moscow-strengthens-ties-abkhazia-310293?utm_source=EurActiv+Newsletter&utm_campaign=39289c7865-newsletter_daily_update&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_bab5f0ea4e-39289c7865-245605241. Back
60
The committee of ambassador-level officials from national delegations
who, by virtue of article 38 TEU, under the authority of the High
Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR) and
the Council, monitor the international situation in areas covered
by the CFSP and exercise political control and strategic direction
of crisis management operations, as set out in article 43 TEU.
The chair is nominated by the HR. Back
61
See (35188), -: Thirteenth Report HC 83-xiii (2013-14), chapter 46
(4 September 2013). Back
62
The EUMM acts as a hotline between actors. On the one side, the
Russian Federation Armed Forces, the Russian Federation Border
Guards and the de facto authorities and on the other side
the Georgian Government. Incidents can be reported to the EUMM
who contacts the relevant hotline holders to inform them of, or
verify the reports. Incidents or issues which cannot be resolved
over the hotline are referred to the monthly Incident Prevention
and Reporting Mechanism meetings where all parties meet in the
relevant theatre to seek resolution. Back
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