Implementatie van Europese defensiestrategie krijgt vorm (en)

EUOBSERVER / DUBLIN - Europe's foreign policy chief has called on the Irish EU Presidency to put the Union's first joint security strategy into practice.

Speaking in Dublin today (8 January), Javier Solana pushed Ireland - traditionally a neutral in security matters - to implement the strategy which was finalised late last year.

The security document was agreed by EU leaders during last month's summit in Brussels and sets out massive terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, regional conflicts, failed states and organised crime as the major threats to European security.

Mr Solana described the strategy as representing a "new strategic approach" to the EU's external action.

"It will fall to Ireland to put the strategy into practice", Mr Solana said.

But with polls consistently showing Ireland some of the lowest levels of support for common defence policy in the EU, the matter is a delicate one for the Irish presidency.

In defence of defence

In Dublin Mr Solana sough to reject accusations by some Irish MPs that the common security strategy represents a militarization of the European Union.

"The EU is not a military bloc - it has not been and it will not be", said the EU's High Representative.

"I think we are trying to construct a better world", he said adding that Europe could not afford to close its eyes to what is going on around it.

He also denied that the EU was trying to compete with the US in terms of power and military strength.

"I would not recommend anybody to do that", he said before adding "the US is today's dominant military actor it cannot tackle today's complex and multi-dimensional problems on its own".

But with Mr Solana emphasising the need to "develop a strategic culture that fosters early, rapid and when necessary, robust intervention", the debate in Ireland looks set to continue.

Test case

Mr Solana spoke of Bosnia as a test case for a general coherent European strategy for when it takes over peacekeeping responsibilities from NATO.

It will be the first case where the EU deploys economic, trade, humanitarian, military and humanitarian instruments to transform a post conflict society he said.

"Bosnia will be a concrete test of our ability to ensure that our trade, development, political and security instruments can follow the same agenda".