EU INFORMAL DEFENSE MINISTERS MEETING IN ROME

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 004564 SIPDIS STATE FOR P, EUR DAS BRADTKE, EUR/RPM, EUR/ERA; OSD FOR FEITH, CROUCH, BREZINSKI E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/15/2013 TAGS: MARR MOPS PREL EUN NATO SUBJECT: EU INFORMAL DEFENSE MINISTERS MEETING IN ROME REF: A. ROME 4482 ¶B. ROME 4440 (NOTAL) Classified By: POLITICAL MINISTER COUNSELOR THOMAS COUNTRYMAN FOR REASO NS 1.5(B)(D) ¶1. (U) SUMMARY. EU Defense Ministers discussed five main issues during their Oct. 3-4 informal meeting in Rome, the first meeting of EU DefMins at 25. They proposed creating a working group to consider an EU role in Bosnia/SFOR, including replacing SFOR with an EU operation under UK command by mid-2004. They pursued the concept of using the five existing national military headquarters in UK, France, Germany, Italy and Greece as virtual planning cells for EU military operations, rather than creating a new separate headquarters. They agreed to establish a "European Defense Agency" by December 2003 to improve European coordination on armaments development and procurement, and supported a French proposal to create a European "gendarmerie". The ministers deferred discussion on capabilities until December in order to see how defense issues will be treated within the European Security Strategy and the Constitutional Treaty. Italian DefMin Martino, who hosted the meeting, also met with defense ministers from Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Iceland and Norway at a lunch on October 4. END SUMMARY. BOSNIA/SFOR -------------- ¶2. (U) European Defense Ministers meeting informally in Rome proposed creating a working group to consider four options for an EU role in Bosnia: an EU police mission, an EU military operation that would be "softer" than SFOR, no action, or an EU operation to replace NATO SFOR by mid-2004. During a press conference after the meeting, Italian Defense Minister Antonio Martino said they would know more about the possibility of replacing SFOR following this week's NATO DefMin meeting in Colorado Springs. He said the ministers had not discussed details but had agreed that such an EU Berlin-Plus mission could and should be started by mid-2004. It would be under UK command and would include contributions from new EU members. The number of troops should be low, according to Martino, because the situation in Bosnia has improved. (An EU spokesman earlier had mentioned an EU force of approximately 6,000, depending on the conditions at the time the mission is launched.) The French delegation proposed beginning informal planning now in order for the EU to take over SFOR's mission by mid-2004. In response to a question, Martino said the US should favor a reduction in US forces in the Balkans because of the demands of ongoing operations elsewhere. ¶3. (C) In an October 6 meeting with Pol-Mil Counselor, Martino's Diplomatic Advisor Francesco Trupiano said an EU successor to SFOR would be the first real application of Berlin-Plus. He said Lord Robertson had made it clear that the EU would have to "do this right," with full coordination with NATO and the US. The DefMins had agreed that an EU operation would need a new mandate to avoid creating the impression that NATO had not completed its mission, Trupiano reported. The EU did not have in mind a police mission, he added, but rather a new, military command to succeed SFOR. EU MILITARY PLANNING -------------- ¶4. (U) Four countries (UK, Germany, Sweden and Netherlands) vocally supported keeping the SHAPE planning cell for Berlin Plus operations, "revising" the tasks of the EU Military Staff, and using the five national headquarters (France, Germany, UK, Italy and Greece) for autonomous EU operations, along the lines of the Italian non-paper proposing a "virtual" planning cell (see reftels). The EU spokesman said, "No one said no" to this concept; France said nothing. He added that the UK had insisted that the EU Military Staff tasks not be expanded to include operational-type planning. Martino later admitted that there had been some disagreement on this issue but added that the ministers all agreed the EU needs its own military planning capability. He said many proposals are on the table, including the Italian proposal and the Tervuren headquarters. There was not a large consensus among the ministers on the Tervuren concept, he added, but it would nonetheless be considered along with all the others. Martino expected agreement would be reached on a proposal or combination of proposals by the November meeting of EU foreign and defense ministers. ¶5. (C) Trupiano told Pol-Mil Counselor that the Italian "virtual" headquarters non-paper was not on the agenda but was raised by UK DefMin Hoon, who supported the concept. Trupiano sid this indicated that the UK has accepted strucured cooperation so long as all 25 EU members agre in advance on the mechanism and could then opt n or out. (Trupiano said this was analogous to the creation -- by all EU member states -- of the Ero mechanisms, with each then free to participat or not.) France and Germany had pushed structued cooperation hard during the meeting, he noted. France had also pressed to expand the operational capacity of the EU Military Staff, but the UK had remained adamant that only the Staff's strategic capacity should be reinforced. The Tervuren proposal is not formally off the table, Trupiano said, but it is clear following the ministers' meeting that a new headquarters for EU planning is not going to be created. EUROPEAN DEFENSE AGENCY -------------- ¶6. (U) The Defense Ministers agreed to establish an agency before December 203 to coordinate research, development and procurement of armaments, according to the EU spokesman. Italy proposed calling it the "European Defense Agency," he said. The European Council is expected to make final decisions on the name and other details in December. At his press conference, Martino stressed that European coordination on defense contributions was necessary in order to avoid wasteful duplications. The purpose of the "European Defense Agency" would be just that, he said: coordination of EU military effort and forces. EU defense ministers will be members of the agency, he said. This will provide them with a forum to discuss common defense-related problems, he explained, since the current constitutional convention draft provides no role for defense ministers. EUROPEAN "GENDARMERIE" -------------- ¶7. U) A French proposal, supported by the Italian residency, to create a European "gendarmerie" was well received by other EU members, the EU spokesman reported. Based on the Italian Carabinieri and French Gendarmerie, the force would have military, police and civil training to serve as a stabilization presence in a conflict zone after military troops depart and while reconstruction takes hold. Martino later noted that how the proposal is implemented (in terms of defense spending and troop contributions) will be important to its success. He said it is likely to be on the agenda for the November meeting of EU foreign and defense ministers. ¶8. (C) Trupiano explained to Pol-Mil Counselor that the proposed force would supplement EU military and civilian capabilities. It could be used after military operations, during the transition to a civilian operation, or it could be used to defuse a crisis before it erupts, he explained. The force will have skills different from those of police, and might do training of forces as well. The French raised the proposal at the meeting, Trupiano said, but there was tacit understanding that Italy will have the lead on implementing the concept because of the Carabinieri's extensive experience with Multinational Specialized Units. CAPABILITIES -------------- ¶9. (U) The Defense Ministers decided to defer discussion of EU military capabilities until they see how defense issues are addressed in the European Security Strategy and the Constitutional Treaty, the EU spokesman said. They expect to discuss capabilities more fully in December, when these two documents will be more mature, he added. At his press conference after the meeting, Martino noted that 2010 is the dealine for interoperability of EU forces. He said the ministers discussed an Italian "food-for-thought" paper that sets forth a "path" for achieving European capabilities goals by 2010 (see reftel A),and would follow closely discussion of defense issues at the Intergovernmental Conference and within the framework of the European Security Strategy. Martino noted that member states have only one force available to use for missions, whether under an EU or NATO umbrella, which makes it essential to avoid duplication as much as possible. He pointed out the disparity not only between the amount of defense spending in the USG and EU states but also the capabilities that spending buys. MEDITERRANEAN SECURITY -------------- ¶10. (U) Martino noted that the Mediterranean dimension of the EU's defense policy is becoming increasingly important. The threat of global terrorism makes improving relations with the EU's Mediterranean neighbors essential. Spain proposed including Med countries in joint operations whenever appropriate in order to build better mil-mil relations, according to Martino. Such contacts might also strengthen efforts to stem illegal immigration into the EU, he said, in response to a question from the press. ¶11. (U) The ministers did not discuss contributions to Iraq or Afghanistan because the informal DefMin meeting was not the appropriate forum, Martino said. He also noted that there was no separate session on terrorism because it was discussed within the framework of other agenda items. SEMBLER NNNN 2003ROME04564 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL