Brussels, 04/03/2003 (Agence Europe) - Javier Solana, EU High Representative for CFSP, last week met the two leaders of the future EU mission that is to take over command of the Allied Harmony operation from NATO in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. They are Admiral Rainer Feist, NATO's D-SACEUR, who will be the commander in chief of the mission, and French Brigadier General Pierre Maral, designated commander of European ground forces. The three men took stock of the progress made in the operational planning of the mission (OPLAN), the third countries invited to take part in the operation and the creation of a committee of contributors responsible for managing the mission. Launch of the mission (scheduled for March) is still suspended pending a NATO decision to put an end to its mission when it carries out review of its mandate on 5 March. Furthermore, the EU Council on 27 and 28 February adopted a mandate authorising the Presidency and Javier Solana to begin negotiations with the FYROM government in order to allow the EU to take over the NATO mission.
Third countries invited to take part in the EU mission are the candidate countries (except Malta and Cyprus which, as decided in the Copenhagen Summit, do not take part in NATO military operations: see EUROPE of 14 December, p.17), three European but non-EU NATO member countries (Turkey, Norway, Iceland) and Canada. SHAPE, the headquarters of Allied forces in Europe, will choose which countries will take part, in cooperation with the EU. Once the choice has been made, the "contributors' committee" responsible for managing the operation and composed of representatives of the participant countries, will be set in place. While the number of people taking part in the mission has not yet been defined (some say 450 including 50 civilians), a large number will come from France, which will also be attributed key positions as it has proposed taking the role of framework nation for the mission.
In addition to the NATO decision to put an end to its own mission, the takeover by the EU depends on a few more elements: (1) finalisation of the OPLAN, which will be presented to the EU Military Committee for opinion and to the COPS (Political and Security Committee) for adoption; (2) approval by the Council of the operational budget of the mission (solely the "common costs" currently estimated at EUR 4.7 million, the remainder of the costs being covered by the participant States). The Council of 27 and 28 February adopted a decision setting in place a specific funding mechanism for this mission (a sort of special fund, since the military operations must be managed outside the Community budget); (3) the conclusion of an agreement with FYROM authorising the EU to take over from NATO; (4) the conclusion of agreements between the Council and the participant countries; and (5) a formal Council decision to effectively launch the operation.