Military

SHAPE News Summary & Analysis

17 October 2003

NATO-ESDP

• According to AFP, Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi, whose country currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency, told a joint news conference with EU foreign policy chief Solana in Brussels Friday that EU leaders are unanimously in favor of a European defense policy that complements rather than rivals NATO. Talking as the EU wrapped a two-day summit, Berlusconi reportedly said EU leaders agreed that European defense policy should be “complementary to NATO and never an alternative to NATO.” The dispatch adds that dismissing talks of translating rifts over defense as “a lot of noise,” Solana said: “First, the EU needs to have military capabilities, nobody doubts that. Second, structured cooperation would be a good thing, but that should be done in such a manner that everybody has the right to set conditions. Thirdly, the relations between the EU and NATO are basic relations and nobody wants to damage that profound relation.” Another AFP dispatch quotes President Chirac saying he would pursue talks with Britain over EU defense initiatives in a bid to make the project “open to all and in line with NATO.” According to the dispatch, Chirac said he recognized “British reserves” about plans led by France and Germany to set up an independent EU military command headquarters and added: “We will pursue our discussions. A European defense without Britain must be recognized as being not very coherent. We hope that structured cooperation will allow us to create a European defense that is open to all and is absolutely in line with our commitments to NATO.” Earlier, AFP reported that talking to reporters on the sidelines of the EU meeting, Blair vowed he would never accept any European defense projects that would put NATO at risk.

Media focus on reports that the United States has requested a NATO meeting to discuss Europe’s plan for defense cooperation. The Daily Telegraph suggests that the meeting, scheduled to take place in Brussels Monday, reflects a growing crisis in transatlantic relations triggered by Britain’s recent decision to throw in its lot with Franco-German defense plans. In a similar vein, the Financial Times writes that the request for the meeting, by the U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Nicholas Burns, reflects growing unease among Pentagon officials over the way Britain wants to work more closely with its EU allies in building defense structures and better military capabilities. The newspaper notes that the U.S. move came as EU leaders met to discuss how to make European defense more effective in any new constitutional treaty. It claims that at Wednesday’s regular meeting of NATO ambassadors, Burns lambasted the plans, saying they represented “one of the greatest dangers to the transatlantic relationship” and insisted that NATO should know what kind of defense policies would be contained in the new treaty. Le Monde claims that U.S. unhappiness with the EU defense plans “gained a new intensity” when Prime Minister Blair gave his agreement principle to a non-NATO European defense component at a meeting in Berlin with his German and French counterparts on Sept. 20. The United States, the newspaper adds, “is not at all surprised” by the stand taken by Paris and Berlin, but finds it “unacceptable” that Blair “up to now its unwavering ally in Europe, should become associated with the endeavor.” The Independent quotes NATO sources saying the informal meeting of ambassadors would discuss the direction of relations between NATO and the EU amid a climate of growing concern in Washington. The Americans are particularly concerned that some European NATO allies seem to have cut off communication prior to agreement among EU member states on defense cooperation in a new EU constitution. That would effectively present the United States with a fait accompli, the sources reportedly said. Earlier, AP quoted Belgian Prime Minister Verhofstadt saying that at a dinner attended by EU officials Thursday night, a “large consensus” emerged about increasing defense cooperation. He reportedly added, however that it would not undermine the Alliance, insisting: “We have to be very clear on what we are saying: European defense will not compete with NATO.”

NATO-ACCESSION

• The government has adopted a plan for the implementation of NATO’s program Host Nation Support—civil and military assistance rendered in peace, emergencies, crisis and conflict by a host nation to allied forces and organizations which are located on, operating in or in transit through the host nation’s territory, reported Ljubljana’s STA, Oct. 16. The report explained: “The cabinet has tasked the Defense Ministry to work with other appropriate ministries in ensuring that appropriate personnel is trained until Dec. 20 and that a manual is drafted. Until Jan. 15, 2004, a survey of appropriate locations must be completed and a list of contact persons compiled. Moreover, a provisional review of information on Slovenia's capabilities for offering host nation support must be done. Authorities must also set up databases of military and civil capabilities until 2006 and publish a catalogue of the country’s capabilities to offer this type of support. At the same time, the Finance Ministry must determine the amount of compensations, and arrange financial provisions regarding tax and customs exemptions for NATO forces crossing the territory of Slovenia. This must be done before Slovenia becomes a full-fledged NATO member on May 1, 2004. Also before Slovenia becomes a NATO member, the Defense Ministry must work with appropriate authorities to simplify procedures for the issuance of permits to allied forces crossing Slovenia by land, sea or air.”
  
  
• Tallinn Eesti Paevaleht, Oct. 16, reported that the army reform proceeding from NATO instructions will substantially simplify the fairly clumsy command structure of the Estonian Defense Forces and may lead to the merger of the Defense Ministry and the Defense Forces headquarters. At a joint meeting of the parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Defense Commission on Tuesday, Defense Minister Hanson said the work at both the ministry and headquarters must be reorganized so that duplication of duties is ruled out, the report added.