Europese defensieministers bespreken gezamenlijk beleid - onder meer Bosnië (en)

Met dank overgenomen van Brits voorzitterschap Europese Unie 2e helft 2005, gepubliceerd op donderdag 13 oktober 2005.

(13/10/05)

Defence Ministers of the European Union met at RAF Lyneham on 13 October 2005 to discuss EU defence matters, including the EUFOR mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In the meeting, chaired by UK Defence Secretary John Reid, Ministers discussed how EUFOR should evolve in its second year of operation, and how it can best work alongside Bosnian authorities and other international actors to promote peace and stability in the region.

The Ministers were briefed by Major General Leakey, EU Force Commander in Bosnia. The Ministers are steering the EUFOR review process through to the November Council meeting where decisions on the operation's future must be taken. The 6600 strong military operation, which took over from NATO last December and is the EU's largest to date, is part of broader EU efforts aimed at strengthening the rule of law and supporting economic and democratic reform. Its main role is to provide a safe and secure environment in which reform can be carried out.

While at RAF Lyneham, the Ministers watched a demonstration of expeditionary military capabilities that the UK could deploy in a future EU-led peace support operation, such as in Africa. The EU has made a priority of preventing conflict on the continent: it currently has two missions actively supporting the peace process in the Democratic Republic of Congo; and is lending logistical assistance to the African Union's mission in the Darfur region of Sudan.

Rapidly deployable expeditionary capability is also at the heart of the development of EU Battlegroups, which have given the EU an additional capability that is ideally suited to crises where early intervention could prevent a large-scale catastrophe.

Mr Reid, representing the Presidency of the EU, said:

"We have had extremely productive discussions today and have made solid progress towards achieving the UK Presidency priorities of developing ESDP capabilities, improving the coherence of civil/ military coordination, and more active operations.

"We have discussed the future of our military operation in Bosnia, and the role it should take in the Bosnian reform and reconstruction process in the year to come.

"We have a very tight timetable before us, but look forward to cementing our work at our formal meeting in November."

 

Notes to editors:

  • 1. 
    EUFOR is just one element of a wide-ranging EU effort in Bosnia, including the EU Police Mission, the Special Representative, and the Commission's developmental programmes. EUFOR provides a safe and secure environment in which reform and reconstruction can take place, including by supporting the Bosnian authorities in their fight against organised crime. Its mandate is due for renewal in November.
  • 2. 
    EU Battlegroups are 1500-strong national or multinational forces, on rotating six-month standby periods, able to deploy rapidly in a hostile environment, undertaking tasks such as peace enforcement before handover to a longer-term, possibly UN force. Fifteen Battlegroups have now been pledged by EU Member States and partner countries. The UK and France volunteered to fill the first rotation slots from January-June 2005, and Italy is currently providing a battlegroup on standby.
  • 3. 
    The EU Defence Ministers' next meeting will be on 21 November at the Defence and Foreign Ministers General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) meeting in Brussels.
  • 4. 
    The Ministers also met as the European Defence Agency Steering Board, chaired by EU Secretary General and High Representative Javier Solana, to discuss the Agency's future role in improving European military capabilities. A separate notice is being issued by the European Defence Agency.
  • 5. 
    The EU candidate countries Turkey and Croatia and non-EU NATO members Iceland and Norway attended a briefing by Defence Secretary John Reid, representing the EU Presidency, and EU Secretary General and High Representative Javier Solana, on the outcomes of the EU Defence Ministers' meeting.
 

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