Observatory on European defence, January 2010

January 4, 2010
EU AGENCIES SIGNS AGREEMENT ON MARITIME SAFETY
The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union (FRONTEX) and the Community Fisheries Control Agency (CFCA) concluded a cooperation agreement on maritime surveillance. The three agencies will operate in the areas of their own responsibility, exploiting respective assets, in particular EMSA monitoring satellites, and facilitating the sharing of data of common interest.

January 11, 2010
ITALY TAKES CHARGE OF THE EUROPEAN GENDARMERIE FORCE PRESIDENCY
Italy has taken charge of the annual Presidency of the High Level Interdepartmental Committee Meeting (CIMIN), the body that assures the political-military co-ordination of the European Gendarmerie Force (Eurogendfor – EGF). The European Gendarmerie Force is composed by Italian Carabinieri and police forces of France, Oland, Portugal, Romany and Spain.

January 25, 2010
NEW CSDP MISSIONS IN HAITI AND SOMALIA. EUFOR ALTHEA INVOLVED IN TRAINING ACTIVITIES
The Foreign Affairs Council has decided to send to Haiti engineering and logistics capacities and 300 police officers (including some members of European Gendarmerie Force), which will contribute to the UN stabilization mission. A coordination cell (EUCO-Haiti) will be established in Brussels to coordinate European efforts with the Monitoring and Information Centre of the European Commission. Immediately after the earthquake the Union had allocated 422 million euro to assist the people and restore the ability of the Government of Haiti.
The Council has also decided to launch a military mission in Somalia to help the training of security forces of the Transitional Federal Government. The mission should be composed of about a hundred trainers who will work in Uganda in cooperation with the African Union mission AMISOM, with the U.S. and the UN.
Finally, the Council has decided to contribute to training and increasing the capacity of local forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This task will be carried out by a non-executive military mission consisting of personnel already deployed within Operation Althea. The operation was launched in 2004 to stabilize the country and to support the work of the Special Representative of the EU.
Several Member States consider that the contingent has now reached its goals and can be downsized, and even provided of a new mandate to focus on security sector reform in Bosnia. The Council, however, has not yet expressed itself in this sense, and indeed has not ruled out renewing the current mandate of Althea after 2010.

January 26, 2010
ADOPTED FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON NATO-RUSSIA MILITARY COOPERATION
The NATO-Russia Council, meeting at the level of Chiefs of Staff of Defence, has signed a framework agreement for military cooperation, a necessary condition to enable a concrete work plan. Cooperation initiatives are provided in the areas of logistics and fight against terrorism and piracy. The deal follows the decision adopted by the Foreign Ministries of the NATO-Russia Council on the reactivation of the cooperation between Moscow and the Alliance, interrupted in August 2008 after the Russian intervention in Georgia.
NATO Secretary General Rasmussen appointed has Mark Sedwill as NATO’s Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan. Former British Ambassador in Kabul, Sedwill succeeds Italian Fernando Gentilini, who has been in office since 2008.

January 28, 2010
THE LONDON CONFERENCE DECIDES STRATGY AND TIMELINES OF THE ALLIED COMMITMENT IN AFGHANISTAN
On the basis of guidelines announced by the U.S. in December 2009 – strengthen international military and civilian efforts until 2011, also focusing on reconciliation with part of insurgents, in order to initiate the transfer of responsibility for security to the Afghan Government – the London Conference has concretely defined some aspects of the new strategy in Afghanistan.
In 2011, the Afghan Government will begin to take responsibility for maintaining security in the provinces more stable, with the aim of extending its control throughout the country within 4 years. By October 2011, the Afghan National Army is expected to reach 171,600 units, the police 134,000.
Moreover, also by 2011 the Afghan Government will assume direct management of 50% of loans allocated by the international community (currently the share is 20%, the rest is managed directly by foreign operators).
Finally, donor countries pledged $500 million to finance the program of reconciliation and reintegration of insurgents who abandon guerrilla.

January 28, 2010
SPAIN SUCCEEDS ITALY AS UNIFIL HEAD OF MISSION AND FORCE COMMANDER
Spanish Major General Alberto Asarta Cuevas succeeded Italian Major General Claudio Graziano as the Head of Mission and Force Commander of United Nations in Lebanon UNIFIL, which currently counts 12,000 men including 2,400 Italians.