DUTCH DEFENSE MINISTER PREVIEWS SEPTEMBER 16-17 EU

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 THE HAGUE 002326

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TAGS: MOPS MARR PREL PGOV NL EUN
SUBJECT: DUTCH DEFENSE MINISTER PREVIEWS SEPTEMBER 16-17 EU
INFORMAL DEFENSE MINISTERIAL



1. Summary: In a September 9 letter to the Dutch
parliament, Defense Minister Kamp previewed the September 16-
17 EU Defense Ministers Informal Ministerial at Noordwijk,
Netherlands. This meeting will be preceded by the first
meeting of the Steering Board of the new European Defense
Agency under the chairmanship of HC Solana. The main items
on the agenda are preparing for the Military Capabilities
Conference in November, the planned transition from the end
of SFOR to EU-led Operation Althea in Bosnia, and possible
ESDP contributions to the fight against terrorism. Kamp
stressed the need to coordinate EU and NATO initiatives to
strengthen capabilities so that they are complementary and
reinforce each other. End summary.


2. Dutch Defense Minister Henk Kamp previewed the agenda for
the September 16-17 EU Informal Defense Ministerial meeting
in Noordwijk, Netherlands in a September 9 letter to the
Dutch parliament. In his letter, Kamp noted that the Dutch
Presidency aims to set up decisions for the next GAERC and
for the Military Capabilities Conference in November. Key
points of the letter dealt with Bosnia-Herzegovina,
strengthening EU military capabilities, EU Battlegroups,
Global Deployability Approach, European Gendarmerie Force,
European Defense Agency, and Presidency Priorities, and are
summarized below.


3. Begin text of Embassy summary/translation of key points
of Kamp's September 9 letter to parliament:

Bosnia-Herzegovina
--------------

The Presidency will brief the ministers on progress that has
been made with operation Althea. It will be checked whether
the military EU HQ in Sarajevo will be ready in early
October, as planned. That is necessary to secure a smooth
transition from SFOR to the new EU mission. The actual
transfer of command is planned for mid-December. As soon as
decisionmaking on offering Dutch units is under discussion,
parliament will be informed accordingly.

Strengthening Military Capabilities
--------------

The Presidency will seek to achieve consensus on the
agreements that should be made at the Military Capabilities
Conference in November. Those include:

-- Tackling the remaining military deficiencies of the 1999
Helsinki Headline Goal. Using the evaluation of the
European Capability Action Plan (ECAP,) the remaining
military deficiencies should be identified, and if
necessary, the ECAP should be revised to deal with them.
Thus, a clear point of departure is created for the new EU
Headline Goal 2010.

-- Commitment to qualitative targets in Headline Goal 2010,
and consensus on the military elaboration, as well as the
development of standards and criteria to measure quality
improvement.

-- Registration of military units for initial operational
capability of EU Battlegroups in the period 2005-2007, and
if possible, registration of such units for the fully
operational battle group capability as of 2007. Although
the Dutch mandate is restricted to the initial operational
capability, the Presidency intends to provide clarity about
the complete battle group capability. That is necessary in
order to be able to make timely preparations.

-- Intensification of international military cooperation.
The Netherlands organizes in this context a conference on
October 11-12 that should yield conclusions and
recommendations.

The luncheon on September 17 will be used to discuss a
possible ESDP contribution to the combat against terrorism.
Although the emphasis of the EU combat against terrorism is
on police and legal cooperation, and NATO has the lead in
the military combat of terrorism, supplementary options via
ESDP are imaginable, for instance in the area of consequence
management. The debate also intends to give an impulse to
ESDP activities in the area of combating terrorism.

EU Battlegroups
--------------

As for the EU Battlegroups, there should be no
misunderstanding over the high demands that are made to such
military units. The EU has no need for paper tigers.
Ample attention will therefore be paid at the meeting to the
concrete EU requirement for coherent and effective military
formations - including logistical support and strategic
transport. The modalities of multinational Battlegroups
will also be discussed because many member states, including
the Netherlands, will offer such a military formation
together with others and not on their own. Finally, the
Netherlands has asked the member states whether they were
planning to contribute with (part of) a EU battle group to
the initial operational capability (2005-2007) and, if
possible, to the full operational capability (as of 2007).
In the latter case it will be an indication and not a
commitment of a specific unit. Thus, the Presidency hopes
to create conditions so that concrete offers can be expected
during the Military Capabilities Conference in November.
Global Deployability Approach
--------------

The initiative of rapid reaction EU Battlegroups focuses
attention on the importance of strategic transport in
relation to rapid deployment. The Global Deployability
Approach, a French initiative, offers the opportunity to
combine existing initiatives and mechanisms that aim to
coordinate strategic means of transport, such as the
European Airlift Cell at Eindhoven. That should make it
possible to provide for transport capabilities for the EU
Battlegroups as of 2007 and could help to improve the
efficient deployment of means of transport. The Presidency
aims to achieve agreement at Noordwijk on an action plan.

European Gendarmerie Force (EGF)
--------------

The EU Defense Ministers will be informed on the state of
affairs with respect to the establishment of a European
Gendarmerie Force. This robust military police force, in
which France, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain
will participate, should be deployable at short notice
during or immediately after a military action. This
initiative was taken in 2003.

European Defense Agency (EDA)
--------------

This agency is to become operational under the Dutch
Presidency. This requires a number of practical matters,
such as hiring personnel, as well as drafting an initial
work plan for 2005. Prior to the informal ministerial, HC
Solana will chair the initial meeting of the agency's
steering board.

Presidency Priorities
--------------

Kamp's letter stressed that the Dutch Presidency will pay
particular attention to the ECAP evaluation and the
development of standards and criteria. ECAP evaluation is
in line with the Dutch view that it should be made clear how
the remaining military deficiencies from the Helsinki
Headline Goal are tackled. The development of EU
Battlegroups will give an important impulse to rapid
deployability of European military capabilities. The
Netherlands is of the opinion, however, that the improvement
in quality of European military capabilities should be
measurable.

The Netherlands will also emphasize the need to coordinate
the EU and NATO initiatives to strengthen capabilities so
that they are complementary and reinforce each other.
Especially use of the EU NATO Capability Group is important
in this context. Thus, ESDP can contribute to improved
achievements of European nations in NATO. In this context,
good coordination between the activities of the European
Defense Agency and NATO is also important.

Finally, the Netherlands seeks to promote international
military cooperation, which is an important instrument to
increase the effectiveness and efficiency of European
military capabilities. It does so not just at the cited
conference but also through the EU Battlegroups initiative
that provides new opportunities for cooperation among
European armed forces. In this context, the Netherlands is
currently investigating the options of cooperation with the
UK and Germany.

End text of summary/translation.

Sobel