| Author (Person) | Thomson, Ian | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Publisher | ProQuest Information and Learning | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series Title | In Focus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series Details | 4.3.00 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Publication Date | 04/03/2000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content Type | News, Overview, Topic Guide | In Focus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Defence Ministers of the European Community met, informally, in Sintra, Portugal on the 28th February 2000. The aim of the meeting was to examine, according to the decision made at the European Council, Helsinki, 10-11.12.99, the progress reached regarding the implementation of the necessary means to provide Europe with defence capacity and common security. One significant manifestation of the progress achieved in the development of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) was the occasion of the official launch, and first meeting, in Brussels on 1 March 2000 of the interim Political and Security Committee. Background Traditionally, 'defence' has not been seen as an area of the EU's competence, although there have been European initiatives in this area over a long period of time. One of the earliest was a proposal in 1950 to create a European Defence Community. In the event the plan did not succeed. Subsequent European integration initiatives were more directed in the economic sphere and bore fruit in the establishment of the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1957. Defence co-operation amongst European countries was, nevertheless, a feature of the post-war world. In 1949 the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) had been established with the following member countries: Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, The United Kingdom, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, the United States and Canada. Subsequently, the following countries joined: Greece and Turkey (1952), West Germany (1955) and Spain (1982). France withdrew from the NATO integrated military structure in 1966, as did Spain in 1986, although both remained members of NATO. The role of the United States in preserving peace and stability in Europe (as well as providing the basis for economic development) has been a significant factor in the last fifty years. Equally, there have calls for the European countries to do more for themselves on their 'own' continent. This initially manifested itself in the development of the Western European Union (WEU), set up in 1955 with the following members: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands and United Kingdom. Subsequently the following countries joined: Portugal and Spain (1990) and Greece (1995). Since 1992 the WEU has introduced new categories of membership such as Associate Members, Observers and Associate Partners. In total, currently there are twenty eight European nations associated with the Western European Union. In some ways the WEU has been a largely forgotten organisation, overshadowed by the Euro-Atlanticist might of NATO. Nevertheless, the 1990s saw the beginnings of a number of attempts to bring the WEU more within the sphere of the European Union. A Declaration annexed to the Treaty on European Union, 1992, for example, stated that the WEU should be built up as 'the defence component of the European Union'. The Treaty of Amsterdam, 1997 says that the WEU will support the EU 'in framing the defence aspects of the common foreign and security policy'. As the decade progressed further initiatives have been taken to develop a greater degree of cooperation amongst European countries in defence matters. One significant milestone was the signing of the Declaration on European Defence, signed at the British-French Summit, St Malo, 3-4 December 1998 which included the statement:
A further, if less positive, milestone was the Balkan crisis in 1999 when there was considerable criticism of the European contribution to the military conflict 'in its own backyard'. All these factors seemed to spur the EU leaders at the European Council in Helsinki in December 1999 to take a number of important decisions in relation to the development of the defence and security dimension at an EU level. The Presidency Conclusions included the following statement:
The European Council underlines its determination to develop an autonomous capacity to take decisions and, where NATO as a whole is not engaged, to launch and conduct EU-led military operations in response to international crises. This process will avoid unnecessary duplication and does not imply the creation of a European army. Building on the guidelines established at the Cologne European Council and on the basis of the Presidency's reports, the European Council has agreed in particular the following:
* 23-24 March 2000 The present The informal meeting of EU Defence Ministers that took place in Sintra on 28 February 2000 agreed that as from 1 March 2000 the interim bodies that have been established to prepare for the future military structures could start operating from the Council of the European Union building in Brussels. Ministers also agreed to the holding of a 'Force Generation Conference', probably at the end of 2000, to plan for the creation of a military force of approximately 50,000 to 60,000 personnel. A Press Release from the Portuguese EU Presidency gives further details. A further milestone in the development of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy took place in Brussels on 1 March 2000 with the first meeting of the interim Political and Security Committee. This is a key step in the process of the EU creating the bodies that will provide political guidance and strategic direction, in parallel with the work of the military bodies mentioned above. Dr Javier Solana, the High Representative of the European Union for CFSP gave a speech at the launch of the Political and Security Committee. There are a number of speeches given by key European figures in recent months that provide much further information on the developing European Defence and Security Dimension / Identity:
Links to some of the recent relevant legislative activity includes: 399D0321 399D0404 Further information within European Sources Online:
Further information can be seen in these external links:
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation NATO Parliamentary Assembly Western European Union: Assembly Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
Ian Thomson Background and reporting on the week's main stories in the European Union and the wider Europe. |
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| Subject Categories | Security and Defence | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
