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The French White Paper on defence and national security

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A RENOVATION OF TRANSATLANTIC RELATIONS

Since its inception, the North Atlantic Alliance has embodied the relationship between North America and Europe. It has played a central role in European security and is essential for the security of France. The White Paper delineates the basics for a renovated strategic partnership between Europe and the United States of America.

The European Union and NATO are Complementary Organizations

The White Paper recalls that there is no competition between NATO and the EU in the field of defence and security; it rejects the frequent temptation to define a priori a strict and frozen distribution of tasks between the two organisations. In the era of globalisation, the security stakes are such that each organisation can play its own role with its own methods and its own assets.

The EU and NATO will continue to be complementary, thriving on the value added by each organisation: - NATO is an organisation for collective defence which unites North America and Europe, in particular when faced with the risk of major aggression. The Alliance must also provide a response to the diverse new threats that face the allies. - The European Union is unique in that it has the capability of mobilizing a full range of crisis management tools: military, humanitarian, diplomatic and financial to serve the Common Foreign and Security Policy. The EU must not be considered as the civilian agency of NATO; it is a full-fledged participant in crisis management.

NATO must continue to adapt to international strategic changes

The White Paper notes that since the publication of the previous White Paper in 1994, NATO has changed considerably: after enlargement to 26 and soon 28 or 29 members, NATO has deployed multinational operations and has developed partnerships with countries in numerous regions of the world and has begun to transform the organisation to adapt to new forms of conflicts. This transformation has given rise to some difficulties and debates on mission definition, on enlargement and on the lack of human resources and assets required for these operations.

The White Paper proposes that the debate on NATO renovation be guided by three main goals: - Reach a joint assessment of the new threats to be included in the Alliance’s mission. - Define better responsibility-sharing between Americans and Europeans; - Stress the rationalisation of planning and command structures. The 60th anniversary summit of the North Atlantic Alliance to be held in Strasbourg and Kehl in April 2009 will be the opportunity to launch this debate.

The Evolution of France-NATO Relations

The White Paper notes that there is insufficient knowledge about the position of France today in NATO. It recalls that France has been a member of NATO since its founding and never ceased to be a member.

In 1966, France withdrew from the integrated military structure only, without however modifying its status as full member represented on the North Atlantic Council, which is the decision-making body of NATO where all decisions are made by consensus. The voice of France has always been present within the Alliance.

Since 1994, the presence of France has extended throughout the allied structures and, as of 1995, this was exemplified by the decision to attend the NATO Defence Ministerial meetings, and the Military Committee as a full member, whereas it had been attending as an observer. Today, there are only two bodies where France is not represented: the Defence Planning Committee and the Nuclear Planning Group. About one hundred French officers are posted with special status in the command structures of the Alliance.

France’s military commitment in NATO-led operations is considerable. More than 4000 French military personnel are present in NATO-led operations; the Kosovo operation is at present under the command of a French General and in July 2008, more than 7000 soldiers will be on alert as part of the NATO Response Force (NRF), in addition to air, naval and command capabilities.

Forty years after the withdrawal of France from the NATO’s integrated military structure, given the evolution of the situation in Europe, the nature of the threats and the mutations which have taken place within NATO, it is not the relevance of the principles of independence that require rethinking, but the institutional transposition of these principles within the Alliance.

The White Paper: - Emphasizes that the situation in Europe has changed profoundly since 1966; 21 members of NATO are members of the EU and have undertaken commitments with France in favour of European defence ; - Affirms our determination in favour of a united Europe, consistent in the area of defence; - Considers that our present positioning lacks clarity and should change in order to reinforce our European goal, in parallel with the progress of European security and defense policy. - Considers that a new rapprochement with the command structure of NATO should take place while respecting the fundamental principles of our defence, that is: o Maintain full freedom of assessment on the part of French political authorities: - This will result from the priority given in the White Paper to intelligence and to certain defence capabilities which reinforce our strategic autonomy (deterrence, cruise missiles, early warning). - Full participation of France in NATO does not entail automatic contribution on the part of our nation to NATO military interventions (decisions in the Alliance are made by consensus) o Total nuclear independence of France both in terms of capability and strategy; o Freedom to commit our armed forces: in particular no French armed forces will be permanently placed under NATO command in peace time.