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EU Presidency.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 March 2004

Thursday, 25 March 2004

Questions (26, 27, 28)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Question:

21 Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Defence if he will report on the meeting of the EU defence directors in Thurles on 22 and 23 January 2004; the mandate of the defence directors; the persons who attended the meeting; the persons representing the Government at the meeting; the names and positions of other Irish delegates; the items on the agenda; and the decisions made. [9255/04]

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Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Question:

27 Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Defence if he will report on the meeting of the EU defence directors in Thurles on 26 and 27 February 2004; the persons who attended the meeting; the persons representing the Government at the meeting; the names and positions of other Irish delegates; the items on the agenda; and the decisions made. [9256/04]

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Ciarán Cuffe

Question:

41 Mr. Cuffe asked the Minister for Defence if he will report on the meetings of defence directors, which have taken place under Ireland’s EU Presidency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9307/04]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 21, 27 and 41 together.

Two informal meetings of EU defence directors have been held during the Irish Presidency. Both meetings took place in Dublin — the first on 22 and 23 January and the second on 25 and 26 February.

Defence directors are senior officials from the Defence Ministries of the EU member states and acceding states. It has become established practice for such officials to meet on an informal basis during the course of each Presidency. The meetings provide a useful opportunity for officials to discuss issues relating to the development of the EU's capability to carry out Petersberg Tasks operations, that is, peace support, crisis management and humanitarian operations.

As I reported to the House in reply to Parliamentary Question No. 3 on 5 February last, the first such meeting of directors, which was held on 22 and 23 January, provided an opportunity to discuss the most important policy priorities of our Presidency work programme. Discussions took place on: the development of the EU's capabilities to carry out Petersberg Tasks operations; progress on the creation, in the course of 2004, of an intergovernmental agency in the field of defence capabilities development, research, acquisition and armaments; developing and defining a 2010 headline goal; the development of an EU rapid response capability with a primary focus on supporting the United Nations in crisis management; and relations between the EU and NATO with particular regard to the capabilities development and operational planning.

The second meeting of defence directors held in Dublin on 26 February concentrated more specifically on the creation of the agency in the field of defence capabilities development, research, acquisition and armaments, as agreed by the Thessaloniki European Council of June 2003. This meeting was attended by officials of Defence Ministries with expertise in defence procurement issues.

The meeting included a presentation from the agency establishment team, AET, which was created on foot of a decision of the General Affairs and External Relations Council on 17 November 2003, to take work forward on the financial, legal and administrative aspects of setting up the agency. An information briefing was also given by a representative of the European defence industry group — a forum set up by the European defence industry to provide advice and policy recommendations. A presentation was also made by the Helsinki task force — an informal task force of military experts from EU member states who provide technical advice to the European Union military committee on EU capability shortfalls.

After the meeting, the Presidency reported on the outcome to representatives from Norway, Turkey, Iceland, Bulgaria and Romania. This report was in furtherance of the reciprocal arrangements in place between the EU and NATO on ESDP issues. As the meetings were informal in nature, no formal decisions were taken at either meeting.

Senior officials from the 15 member states and the ten acceding countries, as well as representatives from the Council general secretariat and the EU Commission attended both meetings, which were chaired by an assistant secretary from my Department with responsibility for European security and defence policy issues. The other Irish representatives included civil and military officials from my Department, as well as a representative from the Department of Foreign Affairs. Other invited guests who attended the meeting on 25 February included representatives of the agency establishment team, the European defence industry group, the western European armaments group and the headline goal task force.

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