Brussels, 23/03/2007 (Agence Europe) - During the exchange of views on Tuesday 20 March at the European Parliament with the sub-committee on defence and security, General Henri Bentégeat, Chairman of the EU Military Committee, presented to MEPs the concept for strengthening the European joint rapid reaction force with air and maritime components.
Adopted during the Helsinki Council in 1999, the rapid reaction force concept provides for the creation of battlegroups (1500 strong) made available to the EU by member states according to their different possibilities. The aim of these ground units is to ensure that the EU has a rapid reaction capacity in crisis management operations. In 2007, the EU reached the level of operational capacity foreseen with the possibility of simultaneous deployment of two battlegroups. Until June 2007, the states that have undertaken to ensure the training and standby of these battlegroups are, on one hand, Belgium and France, and, on the other, Germany, Finland and the Netherlands. By 2012, 15 battlegroups will be operational. The general stressed that the battlegroups will be strengthened in the future by maritime and air components in order to strengthen the EU's joint rapid response capacity. In this context, the Union contemplates developing a database which would be constantly updated, and would identify air and maritime resources immediately available in case of emergency. The general also spoke of civil-military cooperation and the creation of a civilian command chain on the basis of the Civilian Military Cell (a cell created in 2004 within the EU military staff, responsible for strategic planning for crisis response). In parallel to the military command chain, the civilian command chain would be responsible for civil operations planning. Acknowledging the complexity of this process, the general stressed that these new structures must ensure coordination between civilian and military activities implemented in the context of crisis management. (aby)