Brussels, 21/11/2000 (Agence Europe) - At the end of the EU military Capabilities Commitment Conference (see yesterday's EUROPE, pages 3 and 4), French Defence Minister Alain Richard welcomed this "collective success", saying that the contributions of each Member State would be presented at national level by each government. "We are not creating a European army but pooling national contingents for joint peacekeeping missions (..) on the European theater or in the framework of the United Nations", Mr. Richard pointed out. As for the gaps to be filled, he cited a list of "plans to strengthen capabilities", comprising: strategic means of transport; - command and communications logistics; - strategic intelligence; - precision strikes. The minister stressed that "seven nations have undertaken to procure 185 transport planes" and that, for military intelligence, new possibilities for high-definition observation will be available, thanks to a new generation of satellites stemming from cooperation between France, Italy and Germany. Turning to reflection on scenarios for force engagement and a "running-in period", Mr. Richard recalled that the capabilities will be complete in 2003 but could be used before then if the political conditions are there, and following force verification.
Opening the Capabilities Commitment Conference, Richard noted, regarding the figures appearing on the Military Capabilities Commitment Declaration (a "reservoir" of in the order of 100,000 troops, 400 aircraft and 100 ships), that the overall goal remains to be able to deploy, for the ground component of a rapid reaction force, an armed corps of 60,000 troops at most, but EU military experts considered that "to have an average range that could cover each of the scenarios being envisaged, including the possibility of simultaneous operations, military requirements amount to over 60,000 troops". Mr. Richard also made a point of recalling that "thought will have to be given to acting far from our territories, often in a very degraded environment, should the defence of our security interests or support for United Nations decisions so demand". Finally, he stipulated that "for those of us who are, at the same time, engaged in the NATO exercise of improving defence capabilities, there is, certainly, consistency and compatibility between the goals set, without these two processes becoming confused or that efforts required for one may suffice to satisfy the other". He then concluded: "Let's be clear: we have provided ourselves with the ambition of acting within the European Union with or without turning to Alliance assets; the field of application of our projects is therefore necessarily larger than that of the DCI (Defence Capabilities Initiative).
Member States will officially spell out their contributions to the future rapid reaction force in the capitals, but according to information gathered in Brussels, the following offers have been announced (the troops only concerning ground forces): - Germany: 13,500 troops, 20 ships and 93 fighter aircraft; - United Kingdom: 12,500 troops, 18 ships and 72 aircraft; - France: 12,000 troops, 15 ships and 75 aircraft; - Italy: 12,000 troops (that may betaken to 14,000 for shorter periods, out of a total of 19,800 troops, Italian sources stipulate), 19 ships and 47 aircraft; - Spain: 6,000 troops; - the Netherlands: 5,000 troops; - Greece: - 4,000 troops; - Austria: 2,000 troops (3,500 deployable for shorter periods); Finland and Sweden: 1,500 troops each; - Belgium: 1,000 troops (3,000 for shorter periods); - Ireland and Portugal: 1,000 troops each: - Luxembourg: some one hundred troops.