Jim Higgins
Question:87 Mr. Higgins (Mayo) asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the preparedness of the EU for Petersberg Tasks. [18177/99]
Written Answers. - Petersberg Tasks.
The Treaty of Amsterdam, which came into force in May, incorporates into the Common Foreign and Security Policy the Petersberg Tasks, that is humanitarian, rescue, peacekeeping and crisis management tasks. The crises in the Balkans during the 1990s have given support to the view that the EU should be better able to act at an early stage to prevent and manage such crises and the Amsterdam Treaty's provisions respond to that viewpoint.
The Cologne European Council in June adopted an important Declaration on European Security and Defence. The Cologne decisions reflect the EU's wish to give further impetus to the development of the EU's capabilities for conflict prevention, peacekeeping and crisis management, on the basis of the Treaty of Amsterdam.
The Cologne European Council focused on possible ways of enhancing the EU's ability to take effective and informed decisions in relation to peacekeeping and crisis management. Various possibilities have been mooted. The Finnish Presidency will submit a further progress report to the Helsinki European Council in December. The Cologne European Council mandated the General Affairs Council to consider how the Western European Union's Petersberg Task functions could be adapted and brought into the EU to allow the EU to fulfil its responsibilities under the Amsterdam Treaty in the area of Petersberg tasks.
Ireland is examining this approach, which emphasises the Petersberg tasks but leaves the Western European Union's Article V mutual defence clause to one side. The Cologne Declaration explicitly makes clear that the different status of member states in regard to collective defence guarantees will not be affected.
The purpose, as set out at Cologne, is to increase the EU's ability to contribute to international peace and security in accordance with the principles of the UN Charter. It is important that all EU members have the right to participate in Petersberg tasks. We welcome therefore the Cologne conclusion that the goal is to develop an effective EU-led crisis management in which both allied and neutral members of the EU can participate fully and on an equal footing.
Also of importance is the issue of the EU's ability and capabilities to respond rapidly to international crises. In this connection, the Western European Union is currently undertaking an Audit of Assets and Capabilities for Petersberg tasks. The Western European Union Observers are associated with this Audit which should be completed before the Helsinki European Council.
These are issues for further reflection under the Finnish Presidency and subsequently. The current aim of the EU is to take the necessary decisions by the end of the year 2000. Security and defence issues within the EU are intergovernmental matters, subject to the sovereign decision of the member states. It is accepted that participation in Petersberg tasks is a voluntary and sovereign decision for member states in each and every case.
In a separate but related process, the EU is examining its capacities for non-military crisis management. For example, the possibility is being considered of a stand-by capacity to pool national civil resources and expertise for responding to crises. Work on this issue is still at an early stage. I very much welcome the objective of this work which will go hand in hand with the work on Petersberg tasks.