Military

SHAPE News Summary & Analysis

6 June 2003

TRANSATLANTIC RELATIONS

• European Commission President Romano Prodi told the Italian daily La Repubblica on Thursday that the EU should make it clear to the U.S. that any plans for deeper military integration will not undermine NATO, AFP reports. “The first thing to do is to dispel a huge misunderstanding, that risks poisoning our relations (with Washington): the idea that European autonomy in defense matters is a manoeuvre against NATO,” he is quoted asserting and furthermore: “Europe’s military commitments, until the creation of a true European armed forces, if that ever becomes a reality, should always be towards NATO, for efficiency and speed of decision-making.” Accordingly, Polish press agency PAP reports Polish Foreign Affairs Minister Cimoszewicz stating that the “main guidelines” of the Polish foreign policy, which includes NATO membership, good relations with neighbors and entry into the EU, had been “almost entirely” implemented. One of the main goals to be achieved in terms of foreign policy for Poland, he reportedly added, is to consolidate the transatlantic cooperation. A Reuters dispatch reports that EU justice ministers agreed on Friday to sign a landmark extradition deal with the U.S. after almost a year of negotiations. The agreement, sought by Washington to boost the fight against terrorism after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S., will be signed at an EU-U.S. summit in Washington on June 25, says the report.

EU

• AFP reports EU Foreign Policy chief Solana held talks in Belgrade to discuss the upcoming EU summit in Greece, where Balkan integration will be high on the agenda. He reportedly told Serbia-Montenegro President the meetings in Salonika on June 20-21 would bring the Balkan states “closer to Europe.” But he also stressed that it was a place for dialogue between the Balkan countries.

BALKANS

• An AFP dispatch, June 5, writes that the German parliament extended the mandate of its soldiers serving in the NATO-led peacekeeping force in Kosovo, without setting a new deadline although parliament can impose limit at any time, notes the report. The total of 25,000 soldiers deployed with KFOR according to the German defense ministry, includes 3,700 German troops, mainly in the southern part of the province headquarters around Prizren.

OTHER NEWS

• According to AP, in an effort to avoid a replay of the most contentious confrontation at the UN before the Iraq crisis, the U.S. said on Thursday it will seek an extension of a deal to exempt American peacekeepers from prosecution by the new international war crimes tribunal. U.S. Ambassador Negroponte reportedly said on Thursday the U.S. would like “a technical extension…of the resolution,” though he didn’t give a time frame or say when a draft resolution would be introduced, concluding: “It is very straightforward. We wouldn’t introduce any substantive changes into the resolution we adopted last year by unanimity in the council, and we would assume, certainly hope, that this would receive overwhelming support.”