Brussels, 07/02/2002 (Agence Europe) - On the occasion of a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, between NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson and the President of the EU's Political and Security Committee (Cops), Ambassador Carlos Casajuana, the European Union and NATO discussed their co-operation and activities in the Balkans. Lord Robertson said that, when visiting Skopje on Thursday and Friday, that he hoped to receive the official request by the Macedonian President to extend NATO's Amber Fox mission, that ends in March.
There were no in-depth talks between Lord Robertson and Ambassador Casajuana on the future European military mission that would take over from Amber Fox in Macedonia, idea mooted last week by the Spanish Presidency of the EU, the Fifteen not yet having taken a decision (see EUROPE of 2 February, p.6). The issue will be broached at an informal meeting of Foreign Ministers in Caceres, on Friday. Spain hopes for a decision before the end of its Presidency. This mission, that would serve as test of the European military force which the Laeken Summit declared operational, would, like Amber Fox, essentially be responsible for the safety of EU and OSCE observers on the ground. NATO is currently deploying some one thousand men , 700 of whom European, and the European mission would on the whole be the same troops as those currently on the ground. So far the idea has been welcomed by France and with a certain amount of caution by several other Member States. The main obstacle is the lack of agreement between the EU and NATO on the use of the Atlantic Alliance's logistical and command assets. Disputing the compromise concluded with Turkey last year, under the auspices of the United States and United Kingdom, over arrangements for Turkey's participation in decisions taken over EU operations in the framework of ESDP, Greece is still blocking the conclusion of a final agreement. The process is currently in the hands of the European Union. Spain is working on it and I hope for positive results", declared Lord Robertson. Meanwhile, he stipulated, "the EU and NATO continue to work together on the ground in the Balkans, which is the most important thing".
Civilian EU mission in Bosnia mainly responsible for police
You may recall that the Fifteen are, moreover, preparing the first civilian "ESDP" mission, that would take over from the police force deployed in Bosnia under the UN flag. The General Affairs Council should on 18 February confirm the decision taken on the subject at its last meeting, on 28 January. The Permanent representatives of EU Member States this week set out the contents of the mandate of this mission, mission that should focus on helping and training local police forces. They also set out the European chain of command, that should be placed under a single police commander or commissioner under the responsibility of the High Representative Javier Solana and the Political and Security Committee. The Permanent Representatives have still to return next week to the financial arrangements for the some 40 million euro annually necessary for the deployment of the European police force in Bosnia (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.7).