Rome, 03/10/2003 (Agence Europe) - European Defence Ministers seemed determined not to insist on subjects that might cause annoyance, such as future structured cooperation or the creation of an autonomous European headquarters during their informal meeting on Friday and Saturday in Rome. "What Europe needs today is to be united. Discussions over recent months have not allowed this. There is no need to provoke pointless controversy", the Italian Defence Minister, Antonio Martino, said before work opened.
Several ministers gave their assurance before beginning the discussion that they plan to reach a solution before the end of the year regarding the headquarters. Belgium hopes to set up an autonomous headquarters in Tervuren, as France, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium had advocated during their mini-summit in April this year. Opposed to this project, the United Kingdom suggested establishing the European HQ within the NATO HQ in Mons (SHAPE), where a European unit is already established for operations in Macedonia. The Italian Presidency put forward another alternative: to create a "virtual Task Force" with rotating officers between the national headquarters (see EUROPE of 3 October, p.5). NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson remarked on his arrival that the important thing is for NATO and the EU to work together. He said they did not want rivalry or superfluous duplication.
EU High Representative for CFSP Javier Solana said "there are several ideas on the table and we must now examine them". He felt that the question could be resolved by December. Belgian Minister André Flahaut made concessions by noting that "the question of command can come later" as the main thing is for Europe to have already made progress on the ground with the Artemis operation in the Congo and Concordia in Macedonia. German Secretary of State Walter Kalbow also hoped to reach a solution before the end of the year combining Italian and British aid.
The Defence Ministers of the Member and Acceding states continued reflection on Friday on adjusting European defence capabilities with three things in mind: enlargement, reform of the Treaty and the future European security strategy. High Representative Javier Solana placed emphasis on the "quality" of national capabilities made available to European defence and on their interoperability.
French Defence Minister Michèle Alliot-Marie planned to being up the idea of a European "gendarmerie" before beginning a more concrete discussion on the issue, during the "formal" Council of Defence Ministers and Foreign Ministers in November.
On the sidelines of the Rome meeting, the Benelux Defence Ministers agreed to study strengthened military cooperation between the three countries, mainly in order to fill the gaps existing within NATO and the EU, the Belgian Minister, André Flahaut, said. A further meeting between the three is scheduled for 12 December in Maastricht. Benelux cooperation aims to fill the gaps identified within the EU and at NATO, Mr Flahaut explained to the Belga Agency, giving his assurance that Benelux could also be a driving force for European integration in defence matters.