Following on from the European Council in Copenhagen last December and on the basis of a joint action adopted by the General Affairs and External Relations Council on 27 January, the European Union is prepared to take over the current NATO-led allied harmony military monitoring-stabilisation mission in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, FYROM. A further joint action is expected to be submitted for approval at the next Council meeting on 18 and 19 March in order to facilitate deployment of the operation before the end of the month.
The planned EU mission in FYROM is small scale, with an overall personnel strength of around 300. It has been anticipated since the Barcelona and Seville European Councils and will constitute the first military operation under the EU's European Security and Defence Policy, ESDP. It takes place with the full agreement of the FYROM authorities and should also be seen within the overall EU political framework for FYROM and the Balkans region as a whole. The original NATO-led operation was endorsed by the UN Security Council under the terms of Resolution 1371 of 26 September 2001.