Berlin, 04/05/2001 (Agence Europe) - Russia is pleased at seeing the European defence identity being discussed, as it is an unquestionably positive process that can but strengthen stability in Europe, said General Valery Manilov, First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Russian armed forces at Thursday's session, in the Reichstag, of the WEU Assembly colloquium on "Revising the European Security concept - Responding to new risks" (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.5). I do not believe that our concepts are "diametrically opposed", he told his European auditorium, adding, in a speech full of images and metaphors: Europe is a little like a bird wanting to spread its wings in matters of security and defence with the greatest possible stability, but it rests on a single wing, the American wing, whereas it has another wing, the Russian wing … (Europe must conduct a security and defence policy with the United States, as loyal but independent ally, as well with Russia, Lluis Maria De Puig, former Spanish President of the WEU Assembly, recognised during the debate).
General Manilov also sent out an invitation to Europeans to reflect together, with the Americans and the Russians, on ways of facing the new missile threats from countries President Bush qualified, in his address of 1 May, as among the "least responsible" in the world. The American President has offered us "a genuine dialogue", and that opportunity needs seizing, but at the same time he gives the impression that the decision on the creation of a missile defence system has already been taken, whereas the dialogue can only take place before any such decision is taken, General Manilov exclaimed. Yes, in a system that is no longer bipolar, one has to be able to go beyond obsolete considerations in matters of security and defence, but we must not forget the "natural law" which means that, if one engages in the production of defensive weapons, that leads to the production of offensive weapons and a new arms race, the Russian General warned. He therefore rejected the American arguments in favour of renouncing the AMB Treaty, arguing: thirty years on, this Treaty continues to serve, and if we get rid of it, the whole building risks collapsing. We haven't to flatten the old house because we want to build another one, whereas we don't even know if the new house can be lived in, said General Manilov, stressing that the first stage of national missile defence, NMD, had already cost $60 billion. Resources must not be wasted in that manner, he shouted, recalling the fate of "Star Wars", and fearing a "syndrome of a repetition of Star Wars".
"Star Wars" was not totally a waste of time, notably for technological breakthroughs, and the United States is what it is thanks to the old strategic defence initiative, noted Jean Valleix, (long time) French member of the Assembly. The "American initiative needs demonopolising", said, for his part, the Belgian member of the Assembly, Mark Eyskens, speaking in favour of an "American-Euro-Russian joint-venture" having to lead to a "Atlantic-Russian security pact". As for Pascal Boniface, Director of the Institute of International and Strategic Relations (IRIS), he considered that the question of missile defence would doubtless for years dominate the debate on security and defence, while noting that the American plan "responds to no strategic reality" and that the argument, put forward by the United States, evoking the "irrationality" of countries which could launch missile attacks, was itself hardly rational. The leaders of these countries want above all to remain in power, and that type of attack against the United States would surely not be the best was of doing that, Boniface commented, wondering: "if the united States does not feel secure", which country could? The ABM Treaty goes well beyond its signatories alone, and has become in some way part of the "heritage of humanity", said Mr. Boniface, for whom NMD is all the more "problematic" in that it is accompanied, in particular, by the refusal of the American Senate to ratify the Treaty banning nuclear tests. Even were we to change its name, if we removed from the "N" from NMD (for national), it remains a "purely national programme", dictated by national considerations. Germany's Dieter Scholten, the session's President, answered members who regretted the absence of American participation by pointing out that representatives of the American Administration had been invited, to begin with by Defence Secretary Rumsfeld, but that finally nobody had come to Berlin.
ESDP: General Shuwirth takes stock of work by EU military staff - De Grave
insists on parliamentary dimension
General Rainer Schuwirth described the work of the EU military staff (still at the interim stage) of which he is the head. He recalled that his staff has currently reached 50% of the level foreseen, with 65 officers out of the 135 envisaged. Growth in staff is limited by the infrastructures of Juste Lipse, the EU Council building in Brussels, remarked General Schuwirth, who announced that the staff (as well as the political unit and the situation centre …) would be moving in one week's time to a new building located rue Cortenbergh. Our staff should be complete by the end of the year, he added. General Schuwirth mainly pointed out that by the end of May there will be a first workshop that will test the "crisis management procedures" finalised by the staff, and that, by the end of June, there is a fair chance of having a concept of military strategic planning. As far as the forces for achieving the Headline Goal, foreseen for the future rapid reaction force, are concerned, General Schuwirth affirmed that the European countries have "capable" forces as can be seen by their commitment within KFOR and SFOR, in the Balkans. At the same time, he admitted the existence of deficits recognised by all and that should be made up. These mainly concern command, control and strategic mobility (at this point, Slovenian MP Zmago Jelincic posed the problem of intelligence, asking whether, now that the Yugoslav army is "no longer the enemy", its intelligence system might prove useful for the EU). Answering members who asked what kind of Petersberg mission the Europeans could conduct without resorting to American assets, General Schuwirth said it is precisely because he is in the military that he hesitates to answer such a question in a general way. He said, however, that, "as a soldier"he would be "very careful" when deciding whether the Union must launch into a mission of the most ambitious kind, such as peace enforcement or even into a more modest mission that comprises risk of escalation.
Co-President of the WEU Council, Dutch Defence Minister Franciscus Gerardus de Grave describes his "priorities" (we recall that the Dutch Presidency did not consider it useful to convene a ministerial meeting of the Council, and that the next meeting of this kind will take place under Belgian Presidency, again coinciding with the EU Council Presidency). Most of all, we need an EU/NATO agreement "before the EU can declare itself operational", he said, welcoming the "renewed assistance to the EU in the Headline Goal Taskforce Plus". He affirmed that this development strengthens his conviction that Turkey "will agree to an EU-NATO agreement". Then, it is necessary to intensify dialogue with Washington in order to "make our intentions absolutely clear", and also finalise a good review mechanism for implementation of the Headline Goal, clarify management crisis procedures which are currently under discussion in Brussels, and not forget the "parliamentary dimension of ESDP" (The minister said that the Dutch Presidency had taken initiatives on this subject in coordination with the future Belgian Presidency, and Assembly President Klaus Bühler was particularly pleased with this remark). We must also "reverse the downward trend" in European defence spending, stressed Mr de Grave. He considers Europe "can create additional military capacities by improving its military cost effectiveness". In his view, the EU needs a mechanism allowing improvements to be made to the coordination of Member State efforts in order to remedy "specific shortfalls" in defence matters, and such a coordination mechanism could be part of the Headline Goal review mechanism. In concrete terms, the minister recalled that he and his German counterpart, Rudolf Scharping, had agreed last September to strengthen the European air transport capacity by using funds from the Dutch defence budget in order to improve the strategic airlift capacity of the Bundeswehr and to allow Dutch armed forces to use these transport capacities. A German-Dutch working group is working on the details of this project worth NLG 100 million, he specified.
Turkey protests again: if it does not take part in the decision, it will say no to the EU project - De Grave says
"let's hope that diplomats find a solution"
After protests voiced by Attila Mutman, Turkish Member of the Assembly, regarding what he considered to be an unacceptable distancing of Ankara from the European decision-making process on security and defence matters, Kamran Inan, Chair of the Turkish Parliament's foreign affairs committee, also expressed considerable criticism of the arrangements for consultation by the EU of countries such as his own. "We have been faithful allies for fifty years and now that things are better we are told 'you are out'", he complained. He threatened that "if we are simply informed of decisions in which we had no part, then we shall say no to the EU project". Whenever the interests of Turkey are affected, Turkey will be "more than informed", assured WEU Council President Mr de Grave, who, while noting that decisions should be taken by "members of the club" stressed that Europe "will not act alone". He sighed: "let's hope that diplomats find a solution" to this problem.
Concluding work, Assembly President Klaus Bühler (who told the press he regretted the absence of US officials, despite the fact they had been invited) stated one should take seriously Russian concerns Russian concerns that where expressed during the colloquium, and take the Americans to their word when they offered a consulation over anti-missile defence. Our aim must be to achieve a common framework for international security, and the work with NATO is of vital importance, he said.