At their informal meeting in Kranj, Slovenia, on 1 and 2 September, the Defence Ministers will discuss the ‘Strategic Compass’ and the EU’s CSDP missions and operations, as well as the situation in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of international troops and the takeover of the country by the Taliban.
The ministers will also discuss the development of the EU’s operational activities, in particular in the Sahel, Libya, Mozambique, and the Western Balkans. As part of this discussion, they are expected to look at the latest developments in Afghanistan (see other news).
The ministers will likely also discuss the ‘Strategic Compass’, a document currently being drafted that will focus on four areas: crisis management, partnerships, capacity building, and resilience. They will focus on resilience, where they will also consider a set of tools to deal with hybrid threats, and how to ensure access to the global commons (cyberspace, sea, space). According to an EU source, this is the last ministerial discussion before the first draft of the ‘Compass’ is presented in November.
In the framework of this ‘Compass’, the ministers could discuss the first entry force, an idea put forward by 14 Member States in May and supported by the High Representative. According to him, the situation in Afghanistan shows that such a force is necessary. According to a senior European official, discussions are underway on the establishment of such a 5,000-strong force, the cost of which could be partly covered by the European Peace Facility.
The informal meeting will conclude with a working lunch where ministers will have the opportunity to discuss common geostrategic issues and opportunities for further cooperation with partner countries in NATO and the United Nations.
For Slovenian Defence Minister Matej Tonin, the EU, the UN, and NATO face the same global challenges. It is therefore important that common themes, such as climate change, emerging and disruptive technologies, women, peace, and security be addressed in a unified way, he explained in a video. “Above all, in light of recent events in Afghanistan, we need to work together in an effective and coordinated manner, while respecting the particularities of each organisation”, he added.
NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană and UN Under-Secretary for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix will join the ministers for this discussion.
The informal meeting of Defence Ministers will be followed by the meeting of Foreign Ministers (see other news). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)