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.

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2003ROME04564 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL