Observatory on European defence, October 2001

11-12 October 2001
Informal Meeting EU Defence Ministers – ESDP
EU Defence Ministers met to discuss the proposals of the Belgian Presidency and prepare the Capabilities Conference that will be held on 19-20 November.
The President of the Military Committee presented a document on the present military capabilities, underlining shortcomings in different areas, such as command and control, transport, precision munitions and logistics.
The Netherlands proposed a working plan to develop needed capabilities, aimed at declaring the Force operational at the Laeken meeting in December.
The High Representative Solana stressed the importance of enhancing the exchange of intelligence to fight terrorism and of implementing a permanent control tool for the evaluation of progress in ESDP.
The Belgian Presidency repeated its commitments to spreading information and editing a White Paper on European defence.
Ministers agreed upon the need to further the process of integration after the recent terrorist attacks.
There is widespread agreement on establishing a formal Defence Ministers Council, separate from that of Foreign Affairs Ministers.

The meeting of Defence Ministers, held one month after the terrorist attacks against the United States and about one month before the second EU Capabilities Conference, is an important step in furthering ESDP.
<span lang="EN-GB" mso-ansi-language:en-gb"="">As a consequence of the attacks on 11 September and the subsequent US engagement in Afghanistan, greater involvement of European allies in peacekeeping missions in the near abroad is likely.
The current debate on terrorism could also lead the fight against it being included as an ESDP mission, as suggested by Spanish Premier Aznar.
The preparation of the Rapid Reaction Force continues and its readiness is probably becoming even more important in the present international environment.
It will have two different effects on national policies and budgets: a resetting of priorities and grater pressure for more resources committed to security policies.