Brussels, 11/05/2001 (Agence Europe) - The concrete establishment of the common security and defence policy will be on the agenda of several meeting in the Council, with all fifteen on 14 May, and with the other European States on 15 May. 11. On Monday morning, the European Defence Ministers gathered under the Presidency of the Swedish Minister, Bjorn von Sydow, will discuss the follow-up of the military force pledging conference from last November. They will concentrate on the defining of criteria allowing: 1) to identify the priorities to be fulfilled to fill the gap in physical capabilities (logistics, telecommunications etc.); 2) to decide to pass to the operational phase. During lunch, the Ministers will discuss EU/NATO relations and the Balkans, in the presence of the NATO Secretary General, Lord Robertson.
Monday in the early evening, the European Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Defence will gather jointly to discuss the establishment of the civil and military capabilities for crisis management. The Council President, Anna Lindh, will make an oral report on the creation: 1) of permanent structures (transformation of political and military committees, nomination of the Military Committee President, General Hagglund, and the future establishment of the military headquarters); 2) the military capabilities (follow-up of the November pledge conference); 3) civilian capabilities (follow-up of the informal police conference, this Thursday in Brussels - see yesterday's EUROPE, p.3); 4) operational capabilities (the Presidency will summarise the results of the informal meeting of Defence Ministers, last 6 April: see EUROPE OF 7 April, p.3). 5) instruments of conflict prevention (the Commission should present its recent communication on conflict management: see EUROPE of 12 April, p.3). The Council should also adopt a programme of exercises to test from next year the procedures, structures and mechanisms of crisis management, as well as a policy document defining the guidelines for these exercises in terms of participation in operations, responsibilities, control, etc..
Tuesday, at the same time there will be meetings of foreign ministers and defence ministers with: 1) the European members of NATO that are not members of the EU (Norway, Iceland, Turkey, Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary) and countries candidates for EU accession (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Cyprus, Malta); 2) the European members of NATO that are not members of the EU.