Military

SHAPE News Summary & Analysis

25 November 2003

ESDP

• According to Financial Times Deutschland, Nov. 24, EU Common Foreign and Security Policy High Representative Solana has considerably toned down his draft European security doctrine. A number of formulations were reportedly deleted from the revised draft. One deletion would explicitly have permitted military first strikes as an instrument to be used by the EU. The newspaper remarked that the first strategic guideline of the EU was initially modeled on the U.S. National Security Doctrine. “The Europeans wanted to present themselves to the United States as global partners on an equal footing…. Now, as a consequence of the Iraq conflict, the EU doctrine reflects growing transatlantic divergence,” the daily commented.

Media focus on Monday’s Franco-British summit at which Prime Minister Blair and President Chirac discussed ESDP. Media consider that Blair and Chirac mend some fences. They observe, however, that a final communiqué avoided reference to setting up an autonomous European planning cell, and conclude that differences remain.

Liberation writes: “The two leaders did not manage to reach an agreement on the details of an integrated European command. Where will this military ‘core’ be based? A question of symbolism as well as practicality. Not at SHAPE headquarters, Paris insists. ‘But should we build a big marble building? That has not yet been decided,’ said a French diplomat.”

It was clear differences still remained over the question of whether the EU force should have its own headquarters and planning capability. Blair dismissed these as “practical questions” which would be resolved, while Chirac stressed the new force should lend “efficiency and character” to the EU and said there should be a separate planning organization, writes AFP.

The Guardian claims, however, that ahead of the summit, the two sides had agreed to defer decisions on demands that the EU force set up its own headquarters and planning capability outside NATO. “The EU has already launched its first military mission with recourse to NATO assets and capabilities in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. An autonomous military mission, entirely independent of NATO, is also operating in the Congo. In both cases France acted as the framework planning nation, but the French would like to see a permanent EU planning nucleus,” adds the newspaper.

The Financial Times stresses that although the future planning structure is unresolved, Bush and Blair gave the go-ahead for a new rapid-reaction force to be put at the disposal of the UN in crisis prevention.

In a joint news conference with Blair, carried live by CNN, Chirac stressed that “France does not have a problem with NATO.” He said: “We have our status, which is as it is. We are totally involved in all the changes which have occurred recently. When it was a question of creating the NATO Response Force, we asked to be involved and we were involved. We were the leading contributor to that force. France does not have a problem with NATO. No problem. Obviously, as long as we are respected, there is no problem whatsoever. Our view of European defense is a view which is in no way contradictory to NATO. Let that be very clear.”