Brussels, 07/04/2004 (Agence Europe) - The development of European "group tactics" enabling the European Union to react rapidly in crises is not the only military capability that the EU is seeking to strengthen its defence policy. As we previously announced (EUROPE 2 April p 7), competent Council bodies have been working for months to define new objectives for EU military capability up to 2010, which highlight the importance of strategic transport. EU defence ministers meeting on 5-6 April for an informal session examined a Council Secretariat prepared work document on which a report will be based and presented to the Joint Defence and Foreign Ministers Council on 17 May before its approval by the European Council on 17-18 June.
In Helsinki, the European Union outlined the quantitative objectives for military capability for 1999-2003 under its first "Headline Goal". The EU now wants to set qualitative military capability objectives for 2004-10 in order to be able to react rapidly in crises and even act before crises erupt, as well as leading operations of all kinds, sometimes even simultaneously (operations of the Petersberg kind but also disarmament operations). In this context, the EU is seeking to create extremely rapid reaction forces which can be deployed very rapidly in crisis zones: European "tactical groups that it intends setting up for example constitute a practical example (EUEOPE 7 April p 3).
In parallel to these forces, the EU also wants to stress the development of strategic transport and communication. The Council Secretariat work document proposes an indicative list of objectives (which will also be the subject of a discussion among Member States): developing "tactical groups" by 2007, which have to be accompanied by strategic modes of transport to ensure immediate deployment; by 2005, the EU is expected to ensure the co-ordination of available forces for air transport in the Member States in order to be able to set up by 2010 a small European command structure of the subject; the EU is expected to have aircraft carriers with their own planes and escorts by 2008 and by 2010 all necessary capability for strategic air and maritime transport; also in 2010 the EU is expected to ensure compatibility and implementation of equipment and communication.
To attain these objectives, the document highlights the need for synergy between Member States in order to facilitate a high level of inter-operability of their forces at all levels (technical, procedural, equipment, training, command and planning) and the rapid deployment of troops on the ground, as well as their logistical support (deployability and sustainability). The EU also has to ensure and reinforce co-ordination between civilian and military aspects, as well as co-operation with the United Nations (through its contacts with the United Nations work group on conflict management), NATO (via the EU/NATO work group on capability) and with its regional partners.
The document includes different deadlines for allowing Member States to prepare their contributions, the goal being the complete the new Catalogue of EU needs in military capability by mid-2005. The competent bodies of the Council and the (future) European Weapons Agency will lead to assessments for pinpoint progress achieved by Member States in their efforts to attain the objectives of inter-operability, deployability and sustainability but also for meeting commitments on military capability.