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NATO-Enlargement

• A meeting of the Prime Ministers of the ten Vilnius Group countries, on "Spring of new democracies," is being held in Bucharest on March 25 and 26, Rompres reports. It writes that the participants will discuss new ways of fighting the threats to security of the states in the region, try to identify new means of consolidating the links between allies and partners and they will be considering the prospects of enlarging NATO.  The dispatch adds that the meeting is being attended by representatives of those countries recently admitted to NATO - Polish President Kwasniewski, Czech Prime Minister Zeman, Hungarian Foreign Minister Martonyi - as well as by Turkey’s Prime Minister Ecevit, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Armitage and Bruce P. Jackson, the Chairman of the U.S. Committee on NATO.

BALKANS

• According to Welt am Sonntag, March 24, the three NATO-led operations in the Balkans will be restructured. The newspaper quoted German military circles saying the Alliance is currently examining how to make the operations leaner, particularly in the fields of supply and support. The aim is to gain additional potential for a reduction of the strength of the forces in the Balkans. For example, a feasible solution would be that transport units fulfill tasks for all three Balkans operations regardless of their assignment. Another solution considered is for individual nations to completely assume one area of responsibility for one or all three operations. The article reported that other considerations, such as uniting the three headquarters in the Balkans into one, were rejected. It was reportedly deemed that this would have led to legal problems, because there are three different mandates. The decision on the scope of a reduction of the forces is expected to be taken at the spring conference of the NATO defense ministers, the newspaper added.

• Citing defense forces, The Daily Telegraph, March 23, reported that the British Army is being forced to slash its garrison in Kosovo by 25 % as the Ministry of Defense tries to stay within its budget. According to the newspaper, the number of troops based there will be reduced from 5,000 to 1,200 as the British brigade is replaced by an Anglo-French battle group. Britain is also trying to withdraw its 1,300 troops from Bosnia but is having difficulty finding a country prepared to take over. The reduction in Britain’s presence in the Balkans is the latest in a series of "salami-slicing" cuts caused by underfunding of the defense budget, commented the newspaper.

• COMSFOR, Gen. Sylvester renewed his call Friday to fugitive war crimes suspects, in particular former Bosnian Serb leader Karadzic to surrender, reports AFP. "Why require SFOR to go find them in the first place, why require anybody else…. Stand up and say I am not guilty and I am ready to stand up and have my day in court," the dispatch quotes Gen. Sylvester saying at a news conference. Pledging that if war crimes suspects fail to turn themselves in, "we will be looking for them and we will find them," Gen. Sylvester reportedly added: "We only got to get it right once, and Radovan Karadzic and all the rest of those who are out there hiding, they have to get it right 100 percent of the time."

ESDP

• EU defense ministers meeting in the Spanish city of Zaragoza Friday mounted a fresh attempt to resolve an asset-sharing dispute with NATO so that the EU can mount its first military operation in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia this year, reported The Times, March 23. The newspaper added that the ministers continued to plan for the peacekeeping mission in the country after September’s elections. It noted that British officials accompanying Defense Secretary Hoon acknowledged that Britain now had an open mind over whether the EU or NATO should run the operation. The newspaper stressed, however, that there are strong reservations among military commanders that the EU is ready to mount any form of military operation. And, it added, the EU is still blocked by a disagreement over the relationship between NATO and the EU. Against this background, the newspaper recalled that an EU force in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia will need to rely on NATO equipment and backup in an emergency. It also highlighted that NATO diplomats said there was no question of the EU taking on any type of mission in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia until agreement was reached about the EU using NATO assets. AFP, March 23, wrote that Greece remained staunch Saturday in its opposition to a proposal that would allow the EU’s fledging defense force to take over NATO’s peace mission in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. EU defense ministers tried in vain to convince Greece to lift its objection, said the dispatch, quoting a spokesman saying EU foreign and security policy chief Solana would visit Athens in April to further discuss the issue with Greek authorities. A related article in Brussels’ La Libre Belgique observes that the current deadlock is not preventing EU planners from preparing for the intervention in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, which will be the first under the EU flag. "The commander of the contingent has already been designated. It will be German Gen. Dieter Stöckman, the current DSACEUR," claims the daily.

Amid additional reports on the EU summit, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung highlights that EU defense ministers focused on financial feasibility.

EU defense ministers, looking for new ways to improve the military capability of their national armed forces through closer cooperation among the individual member states cited solid financial planning as fundamental to achieving their aim, says the German daily. It quotes Spanish Defense Minister Trillo saying at the end of the meeting that a more effective use of the existing financial resources should have first priority, because for the time being, there was little chance of increases in military spending in the majority of EU countries. According to the newspaper, Trillo expressly welcomed that one of the most important projects, the development of the A400M military transport aircraft, could now be seen as secure. The newspaper also quotes German Defense Minister Scharping saying that in view of the tight budgetary situation, the main priority was now to achieve "higher efficiency at more favorable prices" through "new ways of financing" and concrete plans for coordination and cooperation. As an example for this type of cooperation, he reportedly cited an agreement he signed with his French counterpart Alain Richard on joint training of pilots and technicians for the Tiger helicopter. In future, pilots are to be trained in France and technicians in Germany, notes the newspaper.

ISAF

• Britain said Sunday it would lead international peacekeepers in Kabul for longer than first planned, reports Reuters. Talks for Turkey to take over command of ISAF have dragged on, with Ankara worried about the cost of the task, says the dispatch, adding that in a televised interview, Foreign Secretary Straw said that as result, Britain’s role as "lead authority" would be "extended for a little while." The dispatch remarks it was the first time Britain has formally said it will stay in charge of the force for longer than it originally agreed.

 FINAL ITEM