Paris, 27 February 2008 – The Slovenian Presidency of the EU considers stability in the western Balkans to be “of vital importance” for the security and stability of the entire EU. It was the ambition of all the countries in the region to join the EU which, for its part, had to use all available means to promote peace, economic development and regional cooperation in south-east Europe. The Slovenian Presidency welcomed the colloquy on “2008: a decisive year for the western Balkans” co-organised by the Assembly and the national Slovenian Assembly to be held in Ljubljana on Tuesday 4 March.

Members of the Assembly met the Permanent Representatives of the WEU Permanent Council/EU Political and Security Committee in Brussels (in the Jacques Delors building, Committee of the Regions) on 25 February. The Ambassadors representing the member states on the EU Political and Security Committee (PSC) form the WEU Permanent Council, which holds regular meetings with the Assembly Committees. The parliamentarians also had the opportunity to discuss ongoing ESDP operations with Brigadier Anton TURK, Military Representative of Slovenia, and Vice Admiral Jean-Pierre TIFFOU, Military Representative of France. The President of the Committee of the Regions, Mr Luc VAN DEN BRANDE, welcomed the members of the Assembly and stressed that European institutions were merely instruments in the service of improving the daily lives of European citizens. It was to serve the interests of those citizens that European institutions and national parliaments came together. Europe had to be built in partnership. The objective was a political Union that guaranteed both the security and the prosperity of all European citizens.

H.E. Mrs Metka IPAVIC, Permanent Representative of Slovenia, recalled the major priorities of the Slovenian Presidency of the EU: ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, action in the area of energy and climate change, the launch of a new cycle of the Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs, enlargement and the European Neighbourhood Policy, and multicultural dialogue. As regards the ESDP, she reviewed all the ongoing and future EU-led operations, in particular in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Chad/Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Guinea-Bissau. The EU had launched 18 operations since 2003. The stabilisation of Kosovo was currently a major challenge. On 16 February, the EU Council had adopted the decision to launch the EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, EULEX KOSOVO. It was the largest civilian mission undertaken by the EU so far. At the same time, the EU was still engaged in Bosnia and Herzegovina with some 2 500 men deployed in the framework of operation EUFOR ALTHEA, as Brigadier TURK also underlined. Generally, the Slovenian Presidency wanted to improve visibility of ESDP activities, a task to which the parliamentarians of the Assembly could usefully contribute. The Slovenian Presidency also noted the positive role played by the European Defence Agency (EDA) and in particular expressed the hope that by summer 2008 the agency would have formulated a capability development plan.

Vice Admiral Jean-Pierre TIFFOU stressed that the EDA’s capability development plan was keenly awaited by the military. It would identify various national priorities as regards procurement, lessons learned from different EU operations and technological breakthroughs that would be decisive for the future. The establishment of an “EU civilian command and control structure” also marked progress. However, in spite of the success of EU operations, the ESDP had reached its limits, both in terms of capabilities and institutionally. The EU operations centre was “virtual” as in order for it to be formed some 40 officers had to be withdrawn from the EU Military Staff (EUMS), which completely disrupted the latter,  and national reinforcements had to be called in which could be late in arriving. From the military point of view, a permanent operations centre based in Brussels would be the best solution. For operation EUFOR Tchad/RCA, it had taken two months to bring together 90% of the staff at the headquarters in Mont Valérien, France, and on top of that it had taken five force generation conferences to generate 3 700 troops and the equipment required for the operation! 14 member states were taking part with France, Ireland, Poland, Sweden and Austria as the main contributors. The aim of the operation was to protect refugees, facilitate humanitarian aid and create conditions conducive to the voluntary return of refugees to their home villages. EUFOR Tchad/RCA was scheduled to be deployed for one year. If necessary, UN forces would take over from the EU in the region.

Questions from Assembly members to the Ambassadors primarily concerned ways of strengthening relations between NATO and the EU, Kosovo, EU policy towards Russia, the interoperability of defence equipment for troops engaged in multinational operations, the need for a permanent EU operation headquarters, the situation in Darfur, the link between defence and internal security, updating the European Security Strategy and the role of the EU Satellite Centre in support of ongoing operations. Assembly members also put questions about the new provisions on the common foreign and security policy in the Treaty of Lisbon. The new solidarity clause, for example, should allow military resources to be made available in the event of civil disasters. After ratification of the treaty, the recurrent difficulties encountered in generating the military capabilities to conduct EU missions could be resolved through the new mechanism for “permanent structured cooperation” provided for in the Lisbon Treaty. These questions, among others, will be discussed at the Assembly’s forthcoming plenary session in Paris (3-5 June).