Vol. 548 No. 3
38 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Defence the progress made to date in preparation for participation in the EU rapid reaction force; if he supports the development of a European defence identity and a common European policy; and the extent to which it is proposed the State will participate in the development of such policy and its implementation. [4791/02]
70 Mr. G. Reynolds asked the Minister for Defence the Government's commitment to the rapid reaction force; the steps which have been taken to meet this commitment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4803/02]
123 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Defence the progress made to date in preparation for participation in the EU rapid reaction force; his views on the development of a European defence identity and a common European defence policy; and the extent to which it is proposed this State participate in the development of such policy and its implementation. [4872/02]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 38, 70, and 123 together.
The Helsinki European Council in December 1999 agreed on a voluntary timeframe for establishing a capability to deploy within 60 days and to sustain for at least one year forces of up to 50,000 to 60,000 persons capable of the full range of humanitarian, peacekeeping and crisis management tasks known as Petersberg Tasks.
This target, known as the Helsinki Headline Goal, was developed in the light of the provisions of the Treaty of Amsterdam which was approved in Ireland by referendum in May, 1998, and derives from the decisions taken by European heads of state and government at the subsequent EU Councils.
The EU has accomplished substantial progress towards achieving that goal, and at the Laeken European Council in December 2001, a declaration that the EU is now able to conduct some crisis management operations was adopted. Although considerable work is still in progress, the Laeken declaration represents a significant step towards the development of co-operation between EU members to voluntarily undertake humanitarian, peacekeeping and crisis management tasks.
39 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Defence if the Defence Forces will be taking part in the first military exercise of the European Union's rapid reaction force in May 2002; if so, the capacity in which this will occur; the nature of the exercise; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4700/02]
Contrary to the impression frequently conveyed in some quarters, there is nothing in the European security and defence policy, or in the EU treaties – including the Nice treaty – that points Ireland in the direction of participating in a European army.
The Deputy asks if the Defence Forces will be taking part in the first military exercise of the European Union's rapid reaction force in May 2002. The answer is that there is no military exercise in May 2002 in the context of European security and defence policy, ESDP.
Rather, the EU is undertaking a crisis management exercise, CME02, to exercise and evaluate the full range of the EU's crisis management procedures and structures at the pre-decisional phase of the decision-making process in relation to a possible Petersberg operation. The aim of the exercise is to ensure the full range of civilian and military instruments is properly co-ordinated in order to help to ensure readiness and the necessary co-ordination between the EU's civilian and military instruments.
For the EU to be in a position to be able to act effectively in crisis management circumstances, it must be able to deploy the full range of civilian and military means at its disposal in a coherent and co-ordinated manner. Priority is being accorded to developing instruments and modalities for civil-military co-ordination in the ESDP context. Crisis management procedures are being developed that should guarantee quick, effective and coherent decision-making in Petersberg tasks-type situations. CME02 will be used to evaluate and refine these crisis management procedures in the light of the experience gained during the exercise.
The EU exercise programme covers the period 2001-2006, with a sequence of exercises designed to ensure appropriate readiness and efficient functioning in a crisis management situation. The exercises are designed to ensure the EU structures, procedures – including consultation with the UN – and arrangements are properly tested and validated in order to ensure appropriate readiness and efficient functioning in a Petersberg Task-type crisis. The EU does not intend to engage in military field exercises.
