Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05BRUSSELS379
2005-01-27 13:52:00
CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN
Embassy Brussels
Cable title:  

S/CRS ASSESSES THE EU'S CRISIS RESPONSE

Tags:  PREL MCAP MOPS EAID EUN USEU BRUSSELS 
pdf how-to read a cable
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BRUSSELS 000379 

SIPDIS

NOFORN

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/RPM, EUR/ERA AND S/CRS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/26/2015
TAGS: PREL MCAP MOPS EAID EUN USEU BRUSSELS
SUBJECT: S/CRS ASSESSES THE EU'S CRISIS RESPONSE
CAPABILITIES

Classified By: USEU Political Military Officer Jeremy Brenner for reaso
ns 1.4 (b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BRUSSELS 000379

SIPDIS

NOFORN

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/RPM, EUR/ERA AND S/CRS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/26/2015
TAGS: PREL MCAP MOPS EAID EUN USEU BRUSSELS
SUBJECT: S/CRS ASSESSES THE EU'S CRISIS RESPONSE
CAPABILITIES

Classified By: USEU Political Military Officer Jeremy Brenner for reaso
ns 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C/NF) Summary: The European Union has developed
deployable capabilities in police monitoring and training,
civil administration, rule of law, and civil protection.
Under the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP),there
is an evolving capacity to do early warning of failed or
failing states or regional conflict combined with an ability
to do contingency planning for an integrated crisis response.
Some of the missions envisioned within the EU would involve a
military component in a range or roles. These structures are
developing rapidly, and it is likely that some ESDP missions
will be deployed over the next months in order to demonstrate
as yet untested capabilities. End Summary.


2. (U) John Schmidt, S/CRS Deputy Coordinator for Security
and Governance and Tod Wilson, Director of Transitional
Security, met January 11 with EU officials for discussions of
EU crisis response capabilities. Within the Council
Directorate General for External Relations and Common Foreign
and Security Policy are Directorates for Civilian Crisis
Management and Coordination and for Defense Aspects.

-------------- --------------
ESDP: Creating a Global and Integrated Crisis Response
-------------- --------------


3. (C/NF) In a meeting with Didier Lenoir, planner for
military aspects of crisis management, Schmidt and Wilson
explored the existing structures and capabilities for
planning and running an integrated crisis management
operation under the European Security and Defense Policy.
Lenoir explained that most of the strictly civilian
mechanisms for humanitarian relief and reconstruction reside
within the European Commission, where there are significant
budgets established for ongoing programs. ESDP seeks to
create a global and integrated approach to crisis response as
part of its security mandate. The 2003 European Security

Strategy identified failed states and regional conflicts as
key security threats to the EU.

-------------- --------------
Commission and Council: Two sides of the EU Response
-------------- --------------


4. (C/NF) According to Lenoir, the ESDP role in crisis
response is part of a "grey zone" between the humanitarian
competencies of the Commission and the security function of
the Council. He explained the division by saying that money
spent for the local population comes from the Commission, but
deploying people to undertake a mission on the ground is a
Council function. While acknowledging that the EU itself is
"stovepiped" along these lines, he insisted that within the
Council Secretariat there is full coordination among the
military and civilian components of crisis response planning.
While there are Commission representatives on the
newly-created civ/mil planning cell staff within the
Secretariat, the cell will not have the authority to draw

SIPDIS
directly upon Commission assets. Its role will be as a
central clearinghouse and planning body to coordinate
individual member states responses as well as those from
within the EU.

--------------
The Military Options
--------------


5. (C/NF) Lenoir explained that the planning cell will use a
watch list as a basis for contingency planning. The cell can
be tasked by the Secretariat with preparing a contingency
plan for a particular country. He foresees a range of ESDP
operations that cover three options. One option would be a
military component as part of a civilian humanitarian or
stabilization operation. This would entail a logistics and
transportation role with planning support for the civilian
teams. A second option would involve military units in
support of the civilian mission. Such a role would involve
the previous elements, but would add a security function. The
third option would be a military operation designed to "kick
in the door" and establish a safe and secure environment in
order for the civilian operations to be established. The
first two options, according to Lenoir, could be planned and
run from within the Operations Center, scheduled to be
operational in January 2006. The third option of a purely
military operation would probably be planned and run at
SHAPE.

--------------
Missions Defined by End Date, Not End State
--------------


6. (C/NF) Lenoir reminded us that the assets that could be
marshaled under ESDP are national assets, and as such they
could be made available for other operations, such as a
request by the UN Security Council. He cautioned that such
ESDP operations are conceived as short duration operations,
with both an end date and a hand-off to another institution
established as part of the planning process. He said that an
end-date, rather than an end-state would dictate the
termination of the operation, noting that contributing
nations are more comfortable in offering assets if they know
when it will finish.

--------------
DRC Security Sector Reform Mission
--------------


7. (C/NF) Lenoir told us that planning was going forward
quickly on a security sector reform mission in the DRC. Such
a mission would involve a military component that would
undertake Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration
(DDR) tasks while working to reform the Army and instill
principles of good governance. Lenoir anticipated that this
may be the next ESDP mission to be deployed.

--------------
Civilian Assets
--------------


8. (C/NF) Schmidt and Wilson next met with Veronica Cody,
Deputy Director of the Directorate for Civilian Crisis
Management, and Hannu Taimisto, Rule of Law officer, for an
overview of the civilian assets available for crisis
response. Cody explained that her directorate coordinates
existing resources and seeks to develop additional assets and
capabilities on the civilian side of crisis response. The
civilian experts, like the military forces, are national
assets pledged to EU operations by member states. The
civilian crisis response directorate encompasses police, rule
of law, civil administration, and civil protection resources.
These "instruments" are intended for a range of missions
usually focused on monitoring, mentoring, and advising
existing local structures. Cody initially ruled out the use
of these deployable experts for "substitution" missions, as
might be required in an intervention in a failed or failing
state where local structures no longer functioned. When
pressed, she agreed that circumstances might occur in which
these civilian instruments could be used to substitute for
local institutions as part of an integrated crisis
intervention, perhaps even in conjunction with a military
component.

--------------
Policing: The Most Advanced Instrument
--------------


9. (C/NF) Taimisto pointed out that policing is the most
well-developed of the civilian "pillars." With the EU Police
Mission in Bosnia and the Proxima mission in Macedonia the
mechanisms designed to raise the standard of local policing
have had considerable practical experience. Such missions are
based on "co-location" of mentors throughout the chain of
command to influence policy and management practices. Rule
of law missions, such as the current mission to Georgia, are
designed around the same principle of co-location.

--------------
Civil Administration and Civil Protection
--------------

10. (C/NF) Cody pointed out that there has not yet been a
civil administration mission, although there has been some
training and exercises. For civil protection, there have not
yet been either missions or exercises. She said that
national pledges total almost 1000 individuals for civil
administration, but it is unclear how rapidly they could be
deployed. She envisioned that in a case where records have
been destroyed -- either deliberately or as the result of a
conflict -- the civil administration experts could
simultaneously substitute for critical services and mentor
any remaining parts of the institutions.

--------------
Legal Authority for Deployment
--------------


11. (C/NF) When asked under what circumstances planners could
envision the deployment of these civilian experts, Cody said
that such missions have only entered third countries at the
request of that government. In principle, in the event of a
large crisis response operation mounted under the auspices of
a UNSCR, the Council might be able to make its resources
available. She pointed out that it would be "cumbersome,"
and that it would likely entail the launch of an ESDP
operation, requiring the approval of the 24 participating
Heads of State and Government. (Note: Denmark has opted out
of participation in ESDP. End note.)

--------------
A Growth Industry
--------------


12. (C/NF) Cody said that civilian crisis management is one
of the biggest growth areas for the Council, terming it a
"boom area." The 2008 Civilian Headline Goal aims to improve
the quality and the quantity of rapidly deployable experts. A
major objective is to pre-identify specific capabilities at
an individual level, and to require a significant level of
experience and language proficiency.

--------------
Comment
--------------


13. (C/NF) The EU member states have contributed billions to
the development of these crisis response mechanisms and those
programs funded via the Commission. In many respects, this
crisis response role represents the lowest common denominator
of achievable political consensus among the 24 participating
states on the projection of EU "power" and influence. These
civilian missions -- with their military components -- are
predicated on a relatively low risk environment, and they
would be deployed as limited duration missions with a
hand-off mechanism and end date pre-established prior to
deployment. The structures are advanced in some respects,
but for now, quite limited in scope. As similar crisis
response mechanisms evolve within the USG and other
international organizations, areas for mutually reinforcing
cooperation and coordination will present themselves.
.