Brussels, 23/05/2008 (Agence Europe) - European Union defence ministers are to meet on Monday 26 May at the Jumbo Council of the year (see related article). The Council is expected to: - confirm that EUFOR Tchad/RCA (the EU's military force in Chad and the Central African Republic) will reach its full operational capacity at the end of June; - decide possible reinforcements for personnel of the EU police mission in Afghanistan; - and continue developing a manual on preparing battlegroups (GT-1500), to ensure interoperability of elements forming these EU rapid reaction units. Development of the EU's civil and military capabilities, as well as the work of the European Defence Agency (EDA), complete the agenda.
On the sidelines of the meeting, defence ministers will attend the EDA's steering board meeting during which they will be briefed by EU High Representative Javier Solana and EDA Executive Director Alexander Weis on work underway within the agency (especially the launching of a second joint investment programme devoted to new technologies and the implementation of the Franco-British initiative on adapting helicopters to meet ESDP and NATO needs).
The Council itself will begin on Monday at 10.00am with a session on missions and operations, and EU capabilities, including battlegroups and at the EDA.
EUFOR Tchad/RCA. Ministers will be briefed by the operation commander, General Patrick Nash, on progress made in deployment of this European force responsible for protecting refugee and displaced persons' camps, as well as humanitarian and UN personnel in south-eastern Chad and the north-eastern part of the Central African Republic. The Council is expected to confirm that the mission will reach its full operational capacity at the end of June, although the last Polish contingent for the force will not arrive until September. Defence ministers should also look at contributions by Russia and Albania to this operation. The possible Croatian contribution to the operation (despatch of 15 military depends on confirmation from the Croatian parliament and at European level) will probably be evoked during the meeting of the EU troika with third countries (Norway, Croatia, Iceland, Turkey, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) after the Council. Ministers are also expected to briefly take stock of other EU operations: - the security sector reform mission (EUSEC RDC) and the EU police mission (EUPOL RD Congo) in the Democratic Republic of Congo; - the EU's advisory mission to security sector reform in Guinea Bissau (EUSSR Guinea-Bissau); - the EU's military operation in Bosnia-Herzegovina (EUFOR Althea) and the EU civilian mission in Kosovo (EULEX). The Council is also expected to give the go-ahead to extending activities of the EU police mission on Palestinian territory (EUPOL COPPS) (criminal justice sector) and extend the mandate of the EU integrated mission in Iraq (EUJUST LEX) until 30 June 2009.
Capabilities. Defence ministers will no doubt take a particular interest in battlegroups, welcoming the results of the engagement conference (24 April) which enabled the final list of battlegroups available until end 2009 to be drawn up, with an indicative list until 2011. The Council is expected to encourage member states to step up their commitments during the next engagement conference to be held this autumn, mainly to fill the “gap” during the second half of 2010 (out of two battlegroups, only one has been declared). Ministers should also note the arrangement found for strengthening the EU Military Staff's planning capacity (see EUROPE 9546) and undertake to return to this if needs be. They will also take stock of the Capabilities Development Plan drawn up by EDA, the Military Committee and the EU Military Staff. The Council should also note the establishment of the new global civilian objective for 2010, which aims at closer cooperation and working between the EU's civilian and military capabilities.
In a joint session with the foreign ministers, defence ministers will evoke the EU police mission in Afghanistan (EUPOL Afghanistan) with a view to reaching an agreement on reinforcing the strength of the operation requested by Germany during the last Council. They will adopt the document prepared by the Slovenian EU Council Presidency on the EU's response to the problem of children affected by armed conflict (CAAC). This response above all comprises the definition of child protection, specific training, and the presence of experts in this area for each operation or mission conducted by the EU. During this session, the ministers should also adopt general conclusions on ESDP. The working lunch of defence ministers will be devoted to EU strategic partnerships (UN and NATO). (A.By.)