Brussels, 24 March 2010 – The European Security and Defence Assembly today met the WEU Permanent Council/EU Political and Security Committee (PSC) in Brussels as part of the regular six-monthly exchanges of views between the Assembly and Permanent Council representatives. Representing the Spanish joint EU/WEU Presidency was H.E. Mr Carlos FERNÁNDEZ-ARIAS MINUESA, Permanent Representative of Spain, who presented the latest important developments in the field of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP).

The EU is currently conducting 14 civilian and military operations on three continents, including: EUNAVFOR ATALANTA off the coast of Somalia, EUTM Somalia, EUFOR ALTHEA and EUPM in Bosnia and Herzegovina, EUMM in Georgia, EUPOL Afghanistan, EUJUST LEX in Iraq, EUPOL COPPS in the Palestinian Territories and EUCO Haiti, a specific sui generis mechanism created to coordinate and pool the emergency response efforts of the EU member states following the earthquake in Haiti.

Increasingly, the EU is cooperating with third countries in the field of security, as well as with organisations such as the United Nations, the African Union, NATO and the OSCE.

To conduct crisis-management operations efficiently, the EU needs to boost its capabilities: it must enhance its civ-mil capabilities, make better use of the battlegroups and strengthen cooperation on defence equipment.

The EU is also actively tackling “horizontal” issues such as terrorism, nuclear proliferation and the spread of weapons of mass destruction, and threats to maritime security.

During the debate, Ambassador FERNÁNDEZ-ARIAS MINUESA stressed that CSDP issues are intergovernmental, will remain so and will not fall under the scrutiny of the European Parliament.

The meeting with the Permanent Council was preceded by an exchange of views with Mrs Claude-France ARNOULD, Deputy Director General in charge of the Crisis Management and Planning Directorate (CMPD), EU Council. She explained that the CMPD's aim was to create a comprehensive civ-mil approach to crisis management, which was a real challenge. The EU was seeking synergy between the civilian and military components, while respecting the specificity of each.

Although the decision to create this new integrated civ-mil structure had been taken at the end of 2008, before ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, the CMPD was in a transitional phase pending finalisation of the new European External Action Service (EEAS) of which it was part. Meanwhile, the integrated approach was already being implemented, both for the strategic planning and conduct of operations and for the development of partnerships.

Mrs ARNOULD took stock of several ongoing operations: EUNAVFOR ATALANTA, EUPOL Afghanistan and the coordination of aid for Haiti, and commented on the EU-NATO partnership and EU-UN cooperation. Her briefing was followed by a lively exchange with the parliamentarians.

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