Sumario: Summary remarks by EUHR Solana on Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) (7 May 2007: Brussels)
Summary of remarks by Javier Solana, EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy to the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee and representatives of national parliaments in the field of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP), Brussels
Mr President, Honourable Members of Parliament,
Mr. Chairman, Honourable members, I am pleased to be back in the European Parliament, and in particular in the Foreign Affairs Committee. As it is the first time I am in the Foreign Affais Committee since the election of the new chairman, Mr. Saryusz-Wolski, I would like to congratulate him - once more - on his election.
Today, I am pleased to speak to a joint meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament and representatives of the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committees of the national parliaments in EU Member States. I welcome such joint meetings. I think there is an important role to play both for the European Parliament and for national parliaments in the field of CFSP and ESDP.
Therefore today I would like to cover some issues on the European Security and Defence Policy. This is a good time to meet and take stock one week before Foreign Ministers will meet with their colleagues Defence Ministers in the GAERC here in Brussels. Obviously, this does not prevent you, the parliamentarians, to raise also other issues. I will be brief in my presentation in order for you to have more time for questions.
A tremendous number of events have taken place since I last spoke to you, including in the Middle East, Darfur, Iran, Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia.
Concerning our ESDP component, let me talk to you about some of our operations that we are carrying out or preparing.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
For reasons that we would all agree with, our engagement with Bosnia and Herzegovina remains significant. There two EU operations there, a military operation, EUFOR, and a police operation EUPM. Although EUFOR has recently been downsized, it continues to act very well and is able to fully carry out its responsibilities, as witnessed by the special operation carried out in the last hours to uncover information on the whereabouts of persons indicted by the ICTY.
At the same time, the second operation, the EU Police Mission in BIH, continues to focus on the fight against organised crime, a major factor of security in Bosnia and Herzegovina today. Due to its good work, but also due to the scale of the remaining challenges, we must expect that our police mission will be required for some time. The parties have not yet agreed the Plan for Police Reform, which, as you know, prevents the signing of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement. And, once
signed, the implementation of this plan will have to be monitored and supported.
Middle East
In the Middle-East we have two operations that we are running in agreement with the Palestinian and Israeli authorities.
Our EUBAM Rafah operation, that operates in a particularly complex environment, monitors the only crossing point between Gaza and the outside world. There are lots of difficulties, but we will soon restart the negotiations with the parties for extending this mission. However, we will need to do it with a different term of references. This operation should be seen as another strand of the broadening EU efforts to help the parties reach practical accommodation with one another.
Our other operation, EUPOL COPPs, continues to try and re-engage in providing support to the Palestinian Civil Police. Against the odds the Palestinian Civil Police have largely managed to maintain a degree of neutrality in internal Palestinian disputes. EUPOL COPPs will play an important part in providing the technical advice and support needed to build a professional and impartial force as the basis for the rule of law. I think we are close to internal agreement to re-engage with the
Palestinian Civil Police within the EU, but we now need to move from deliberations to action. I intend to confirm extension of the mission at the end of this month.
Africa
Now to Africa, where we have three missions in two of the largest and most populous countries. Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo together have borders with 17 other countries and represent the core of Africa. When unstable, they both have the ability to draw in many of their neighbours into a chaos of overlaid regional, religious and tribal conflicts.
We are therefore engaged in supporting the African Union efforts in Darfur and debating with the government of Sudan the possibility to reinforce the African Mission in Sudan. We have a multi-phases approach in which the third phase would be the deployment of a mixed African Union-United Nations force, in cooperation with the European Union that is ready to increase its support: economic support, training, airlift, for instance. Some limited presence on the ground could also be envisaged.
Darfur is one of the most pressing issues since lots of people are suffering tremendously.
Last summer, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (RDC), in cooperation with the UN, we launched an operation in support of the democratic electoral process in that country. Those elections were the first democratic elections to be held in the RDC. We did our best and I would like to thank the leadership of Germany. That operation is over but we still keep a EU advisory and assistance mission for security reform as well as a EU Police mission to monitor, mentor, and advise the Congolese
Integrated Police Unit, that has not an easy task in such a vast territory.
Some other operations
In Iraq, the police and rule of law EU JUST LEX is a very important mission. Despite all the evident challenges, it has managed to run 37 courses that have engaged over a thousand Iraqi officials. Clearly, the work to assist in training the police, judiciary and penitentiary officials is far from complete, and so we will shortly be looking at options for the extension of the mission. During my meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki, in Sharm El Sheikh, we talked a lot about our mission in
support of Iraq.
Kosovo
We started our preparations for the ESDP mission in Kosovo at the end of last year. Our operation is ready but will only be deployed once the UN Security Council adopts a clear resolution determining the final status of Kosovo and superseding resolution 1244 and gives the EU a clear mandate to take over from UNMIK. It will do so with a more developed mandate and with the support of different types of police forces, including gendarmerie.
We are working on a series of Technical Arrangements with NATO covering a number of areas of interaction and enabling effective co-operation between us. This work is going well and will be shortly approved by both organisations.
Afghanistan
Today I talked to President Karzai.
As you know the EU is planning for an ESDP mission in Afghanistan, that will be of police nature. We will help train the higher ranks of the Afghan police.
The mission will increase the already significant EU support to Afghanistan. It will consist of 160 police officers, who will be deployed to the central, regional and provincial levels. We have two objectives: to help the Afghan government develop a strategy for policing and to help them implement it down from the central and regional level to the provinces.
We also intend to improve the coherence of international efforts in this sphere. We believe we are uniquely placed to achieve this. First, most third countries engaged in support to policing have requested to join the ESDP mission, thereby putting their efforts under our chain of command. And second, we have already developed an excellent relationship with the US, who has a large police investment programme underway.
Furthermore, we have again been working closely with NATO in Brussels and in Afghanistan. Close co-ordination and co-operation exists, as it always does where we work side-by-side. At provincial level, our police will join other civilian personnel in the Provincial Reconstruction Teams, who will also provide their logistic support and security.
I should also say that the Commission will run an assistance programme for support to the reform of the justice system, that complements our efforts in the police domain.
As you see, we are ever more engaged all around the world.
The Eurobarometer polls show us that our fellow citizens want us to be more active in this field. But there is also an increasing external demand for EU action, because of the unique way in which we operate.
As I conclude my remarks, I would like to make a final, and key, point. It is a point that is central to your responsibilities as European and national parliamentarians. When we decide to respond to a situation, we must do so and with adequate resources. Our political intent, recorded in our Council Conclusions, must be followed by action. We simply cannot afford to allow an air gap between what we would like to see happen and what we do to make it happen.
Honourable members, thank you very much.
* * *
In the ensuing debate, Mr SOLANA answered questions on Iran, Kosovo, Missile Defence, Moldova, Georgia, arms control/CFE, Nigeria, co-operation with national parliaments, the Great Lakes region, the Middle East, China's role in Africa, the EU's institutional framework for CFSP/ESDP, including financing, EU-NATO co-operation, the French elections, Ukraine, Serbia, terrorism, Galileo, Russia, Estonia, the frozen conflicts in the CIS, and the elections in Turkey.
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