Paris, 8 October 2003: Javier Solana, in his capacity as WEU Secretary-General, has forwarded the first part of the forty-ninth annual report of the Council of WEU to the Assembly on the activities of the Council for the first half of 2003 (Report available on the Assembly’s website in the documents section). The annual report is agreed by the ten Member States and the other 18 European countries represented in the WEU Council.

The report, which has four parts (introduction; activities of the Permanent Council; activities of WEAG and activities of WEAO) and which is transmitted to the Assembly in accordance with Article IX of the modified Brussels Treaty, contains a comprehensive assessment by the WEU Council of the progress the EU has made on Petersberg crisis management tasks which were first developed at WEU’s own initiative. The Council also reflects on the first draft of a European Security Strategy for the EU. However, it makes no comment on the European Convention’s proposals for including a mutual defence clause in the EU’s draft Constitutional Treaty.

All WEU Member States are members of the EU. They have been actively participating in the European Security and Defence Policy since the transfer of WEU’s intergovernmental crisis management activities to the EU.

The Council states that ”the European Union has developed the necessary conceptual framework for the conduct of EU-led military crisis management operations, including those requiring rapid response”. However, it recalls that its ability to conduct operations in practice “depends on political will, on the ability to accelerate decision-making and on Member States’ readiness rapidly to contribute the required interoperable assets and capabilities.”

Commenting on the military capabilities of the EU, the WEU Council points out that it is necessary to evaluate the impact of the ongoing shortfalls on “full achievement of the Headline and Capabilities goals”. The report assures national parliamentarians that their governments will “endeavour to provide, on a voluntary basis, more contributions from current inventories … as well as to furnish enhanced, new and additional capabilities”.

The WEU Council believes that “good progress has been made as regards the operational pre-financing and financing mechanism for EU operations having military or defence implications”. Governments inform parliamentarians that work has been started on the establishment of an EU planning and mission support capability and that steps have been taken with a view to enhancing a European security culture under the ESDP. In Recommendation 724 (“Developing a security and defence culture in the ESDP”) the Assembly proposed that the Council of the EU create a European security and defence college the purpose of which would be to develop a real security and defence culture and form ties with the institutions of civil society.

The Council refers to the EU decision to create an intergovernmental capabilities agency and confirms that the Western European Armaments Organisation (WEAO) will be among those organisations which may be transferred to the EU as part of that agency. Until then, the Council says, WEAO will be maintaining its current level of service. In the first half of 2003, six contracts for cooperative R&T projects were concluded for a total value of 21.78 million euros.