Brussels, 23/05/2005 (Agence Europe) - On Monday, the European Union undertook to support the African Union (AU) operation in Darfur, in close cooperation with other international organisations such as NATO. EU Member State defence ministers discussed the issue on the sidelines of the meeting of the General Affairs Council. The defence ministers replied “yes” to the AU's request for further EU support of the Darfur mission, the president-in-office of the Council of Defence Ministers, Luc Frieden, said. The Luxembourg minister for defence recalled that many ministers had made firm offers of material or personnel (for logistics, planning and training) in response to the AU's request. He recalled that the EU would be meeting other international organisations that plan to support the Darfur mission in Addis Ababa on 26 May. “We shall not enter into a little game of rivalry between NATO and the EU”, Mr Frieden commented before adding a little later: “The people of Africa are not worried about who provides the plane”.
The EU's High Representative for foreign policy, Javier Solana, confirmed that the EU has undertaken to cooperate with other organisations. He went on to say that, on 26 May, he would be in Addis Ababa with Kofi Annan and, together, they would seek to work out a way to share tasks so that responsibilities may be assumed as they should be. The defence ministers lunched with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. Michèle Alliot-Marie, French Defence Minister, also stressed that there is no idea of rivalry.
Half a dozen countries thus announced they would contribute within the framework of the European Union. France proclaimed it would above all provide an Airbus for the transport of 1,200 men, with the plane making two to four trips each week. Air surveillance of the region will be ensured by Mirages F1 and troops will be trained in French bases in Senegal and Gabon as of mid-June. On the spot, French officers will provide command and air logistics supports.