Council of the European Union: remarks by EU HR Javier Solana on the occasion of the informal meeting of EU defence ministers in Prague

Javier Solana, EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, attended the informal meeting of EU defence ministers in Prague on 12 and 13 March 2009. The following is a summary of his remarks made at the meeting on Thursday, 12 March:

MILITARY OPERATIONS

EUFOR ALTHEA

A strong EU presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina is essential. That is why we are working on arrangements for a reinforced EU Special Representative. EU preparations and planning for the future reinforced EU presence after the closure of the Office of the High Representative (OHR) are well on track. I welcome the planning undertaken by the Operation Commander on the evolution of ALTHEA towards a non-executive and capacity-building operation corresponding to the needs of the Bosnian army.

EUNAVFOR ATALANTA Somalia

Operation ATALANTA is now in its fourth month. It is making an effective contribution to the deterrence of acts of piracy off the Somali coast. To date, 15 World Food Programme (WFP) vessels have been escorted, allowing the delivery of 81 000 tonnes of food aid. Other vulnerable vessels are also protected, on a case-by-case basis, including, in the near future, ships supplying the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). I wrote very recently to the Secretary-General of the United Nations to confirm that we are ready to help provide protection at sea for vessels chartered by the United Nations. An Internet site, created in consultation with the naval community, is operated by the Headquarters at Northwood. With this site, better protection can be provided at sea as commercial vessels can notify the Headquarters of their intention of transiting the Gulf of Aden. The EU naval operation is being conducted in the broader context of an unprecedented mobilisation by the international community. Other countries and other organisations also have a military presence in the Gulf of Aden. This multiple presence allows for greater efficiency, provided of course pragmatic cooperation with the EU’s naval force is established. The EU coordinates with other countries within the region and outside it and with international organizations engaged in combating piracy. Several third countries will be participating directly in Operation Atalanta. Norway will supply a frigate in August for six months and the Swiss Government has stated its readiness, subject to the Swiss Parliament’s agreement, to contribute special forces, legal experts and a medical team. Ukraine and Croatia have also expressed their interest. As we all know, the legal aspects of the mission are crucial to its effectiveness. There must be continuity between the military action and the judicial treatment of the alleged pirates once they have been arrested by our naval units. The EU has an agreement with Kenya on the handover and prosecution of pirates. This will help greatly to improve the deterrent effect of the fight against piracy by demonstrating that pirates can no longer count on impunity. Piracy is also the result of the absence of rule of law in Somalia. A faint hope of possible progress on the political front has emerged with the recent election of President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed. We have a long-term approach and accordingly we are employing all EU instruments to complement our military action and provide a more complete, overall contribution to the eradication of piracy, in particular by contributing to local capacity building.

EUFOR TCHAD/RCA

EUFOR Tchad/RCA will hand over to the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT) on 15 March 2009, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolutions and as planned from the outset. The mission is a success. The transition has been planned in full coordination with the UN. This operation is a good example of how closely we work with the United Nations. Over the past year, more than 10 000 soldiers from EU Member States have been deployed in this mission. I would like to thank very much all the countries that have taken part, as well as Generals Nash and Ganascia for their leadership. On the ground, EUFOR Tchad/RCA has contributed in practical terms to the protection of civilians in danger, the local population, refugees and displaced persons. It has facilitated the work of the humanitarian aid organisations and paved the way for MINURCAT. It is not only the mission itself that has been a success but also the transition. Several EU countries will continue contributing to MINURCAT. We can be very proud of what has been achieved. Beyond the provision of security and support to the UN, we have here an example of how a comprehensive approach to a given crisis can look. We have to progress further and draw the lessons from this operation, unique in various aspects. Let me also remind you that the end of EUFOR does not mark the end of the EU’s commitment to the region. We will continue to be active on the political and diplomatic fronts in the region, to advance the political process in Chad and, above all, the peace process in Darfur. In addition, the European Commission will continue its actions in the humanitarian and development fields.

CIVILIAN OPERATIONS

We are at an important stage in the evolution of the European Security and Defence Policy. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Member States’ decision at the European Councils in 1999 to launch the ESDP. We currently have nine civilian missions under way simultaneously - more than ever before. Owing to time constraints, I will focus on a selection. Let us start in our immediate neighbourhood with EULEX Kosovo. We launched our biggest ever civilian ESDP mission in Kosovo last year with around 3 000 personnel. The mission is advising and mentoring across the full spectrum of rule-of-law reform in combination with certain executive elements. EULEX became operational on 9 December 2008 and we are now deployed throughout Kosovo. The mission has already been tested and responded well. We are deployed alongside NATO. Coordination with KFOR works well in theatre but informal arrangements are not sufficient. Over the past 10 years, ESDP has become a global provider of security. We have demonstrated that we are able to operate in hostile environments. We launched EUPOL Afghanistan to strengthen the rule of law and help stabilize the country after the war. Police reform in Afghanistan is crucial for stability. The mission works very closely with Interior Minister Atmar and the Afghan authorities in the implementation of their priorities for police reform. Afghanistan needs more than just robust policing capabilities. It also needs "traditional" law-and-order policing that can provide safety for the population. Last year the EU decided to double the size of EUPOL Afghanistan. EU Member States and contributing states should continue to make every effort to reach 400 personnel before the end of this spring. EUJUST LEX/Iraq is an important tool for rebuilding the criminal justice sector in Iraq and promoting stability and human rights. So far, 2 000 key Iraqi officials and decision makers from the police, judiciary and penitentiary have been trained. The mission is highly valued by the Iraqi authorities and we are currently examining possibilities for EUJUST LEX to carry out activities also in country in Iraq, in the second half of 2009. One of our key Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) priorities has been to look for solutions in the Palestine-Israel conflict and to work towards a two-state solution. To this end, we launched two missions which remain as relevant as ever following the war in Gaza. The EU Police Mission in the Palestinian Territories (EUPOL COPPS) is working on police and criminal-justice reform. The progress made with the Palestinian police is very impressive. The Rafah crossing point has a special meaning for Gaza and the flow of humanitarian aid and people. The EU has reinforced its Border Assistance Mission at Rafah Crossing Point in the Palestinian Territories (EUBAM Rafah) to enable it to react swiftly to any request to provide a third-party presence at the crossing point. Each ESDP mission is a tailored response to a very specific security problem. In response to the armed conflict between two members of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) last year - Georgia and Russia - we showed that we can respond rapidly and decisively. In deploying over 300 personnel on the ground to be operational in Georgia in less than a month, we achieved what some thought impossible. For the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM Georgia) we deployed both political and stabilisation capabilities. We have made a difference there and EUMM has been an essential component supporting the Geneva negotiation process. We need to continue our active engagement, whilst upholding the principle of Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, to which the EU is strongly committed. The EU’s added value lies in our flexibility to combine both civilian and military capabilities in crisis management. We already have successful examples, including our Security Sector Reform missions in Congo and Guinea-Bissau. Probably no organisation is better placed than the European Union to provide a tailored, rapid response. Collective multilateral action is the way forward. The challenges we face require collective action which is cheaper through collective financing. With scarce resources, and in the current economic crisis, we have to develop the right capabilities to meet our challenges, we must be cost-effective in doing so and we must ensure that the result is greater flexibility and interoperability.

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