Rome, 06/10/2003 (Agence Europe) - "I hope that between now and the meeting of Defence Ministers in November, we will be able to reach agreement on a proposal or a package of proposals" on the planning cell or European "headquarters", declared Italian Defence Minister, Antonio Martino, after the informal meeting in Rome on Saturday. For the time being, "opinions differ", but the tendency is towards "using existing structures rather than creating new ones", he commented. The various proposals on the table will be studied, and a decision taken by the end of the year, he added.
The Belgian proposal to create an autonomous HQ in Tervuren, has not received "a broad consensus of Ministers", said Antonio Martino. It is, however, a "contribution to the debate", which will be looked at "with the other proposals", he said. NATO Secretary General, Lord Robertson, said on Friday that "we are moving away from Tervuren, and towards a Berlin+ solution". "The general feeling is that we should cut out duplication and that the EU already has planning capacity in national HQs which could be used", he added. "We are not digging our heels in", said Belgian Defence Minister, André Flahaut. "Tervuren is out of the picture", said German Minister Peter Struk.
According to European diplomatic sources, several ministers pleaded in favour of a combination of the proposals on the table, by using NATO's "Shape" headquarters in Mons for joint NATO/EU operations under the Berlin+ format (as proposed by the UK), the European headquarters in Avenue de Cortenbergh for planning, and a sort of rotating HQ between the national headquarters for the EU's stand-alone operations (as proposed by Italy). "We are looking for a solution to set up our own headquarters but to complement NATO", said the Spanish Minister, Federico trillo-Figueroa.
The Italian idea of a "virtual planning centre" between national headquarters, with a rotation of officers, is far from enjoying general support. This idea must be "studied attentively. We have to be sure that it will indeed improve the EU's planning and operating capacity, and I am not sure that it will", said the Dutch Defence Minister, Henk Kamp.
In any case, the solution will have to be "practical", said the French Minister, Michèle Alliot-Marie. "Things are loving on", said the High Representative for CFSP, Javier Solana, pointing out that the draft Constitution contains such elements as "structured co-operation", which could be of use.