Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06VIENNA715
2006-03-09 11:10:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Vienna
Cable title:  

REPORT ON EU INFORMAL DEFENSE MINISTERIAL IN

Tags:  PREL MARR CG BK SR EUN AU 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO3369
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RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHVI #0715/01 0681110
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 091110Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY VIENNA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2652
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA PRIORITY 0033
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 VIENNA 000715 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

STATE FOR EUR, EUR/PRM, EUR/ERA, EUR/AGS, EUR/SCE AND AF/C

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL MARR CG BK SR EUN AU
SUBJECT: REPORT ON EU INFORMAL DEFENSE MINISTERIAL IN
INNSBRUCK


This message is sensitive but unclassified.

Introduction
-------------

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 VIENNA 000715

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

STATE FOR EUR, EUR/PRM, EUR/ERA, EUR/AGS, EUR/SCE AND AF/C

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL MARR CG BK SR EUN AU
SUBJECT: REPORT ON EU INFORMAL DEFENSE MINISTERIAL IN
INNSBRUCK


This message is sensitive but unclassified.

Introduction
--------------


1. (SBU) Discussions of a possible EU mission to the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) dominated the EU Informal
Defense Ministerial in Innsbruck on March 6-7. Despite press
speculation that countries would offer up forces for such a
mission while in Innsbruck, the ministers agreed only to
dispatch CFSP High Representative Javier Solana to talks with
the DRC and African Union (AU) leadership before making a
firm commitment to a mission. Civil-military coordination in
disaster relief -- Austrian Defense Minister Guenther
Platter's original headline objective -- settled for second
billing in the end. However, both Platter and Solana lauded
the progress made in Innsbruck.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Willingness but no commitment
-------------- --------------


2. (U) The ministers discussed possible EU participation in
a mission to support the Congolese elections in June at
length in the March 7 sessions. Platter reported to the
press that the ministers had expressed a collective
willingness to participate in the mission "in principle," but
there are several concerns that must be met before the
mission can become a reality: a) there must be close
cooperation between the EU and other parties including the
DRC government, the AU and regional organizations; b) the
mission must have a detailed mandate from the UN Security
Council; and c) the mission must be limited to supporting the
electoral process.


3. (U) Solana confirmed he would establish formal contacts
-- as opposed to the current informal contacts -- with DRC
president Laurent Kabila and the African Union. He strongly
denied a suggestion from an AFP reporter that the process of
developing a Congo mission had been "amateurish" and said
that one should expect such a process to be complex and
relatively deliberate. Solana emphasized that the troops
will be a deterrent force located "over the horizon," meaning
outside of Congo but still relatively close. He did not yet

know exactly where this would be. This force would then
deploy quickly to any potential problem areas during the
election process. About 100 EU military personnel would be
stationed in DRC to make logistical arrangements for a
deployment, should one become necessary. Solana said he was
confident that DRC President Kabila would agree.


4. (U) Germany is the prospective leader of such a force,
and German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung repeatedly
raised many of the above concerns in press interviews while
in Innsbruck. When reporters pressed Solana on whether
German leadership of the Congo mission was necessary, he
opined that "In the end, the force will be German ... I
think."

Iran: Little hope, but channels should stay open
-------------- ---


5. (U) Solana said that he was not optimistic that the Iran
nuclear crisis could be resolved without a referral to the UN
Security Council. He said that Iran must stop enrichment
activities in order for negotiations to move forward, but
said Iran was unwilling to do so. He stressed that there was
time for a resumption of negotiations and it was important to
keep channels open.

Bosnia-Herzegovina: Possible Timeline for Force Reductions
-------------- --------------


6. (SBU) Both Platter and Solana stressed during press
events that it was important to watch the situation in
Bosnia-Herzegovina carefully and decide on potential troop
withdrawals only after the country holds elections and forms
a new government. Platter later outlined a possible plan for
reduction, saying that the current 6700 troops could be
reduced to 6000 relatively quickly "in the short term"
through elimination of redundancies. Then, should the
formation of a new government proceed well, the possibility
of a reduction to 2500 exists. An unnamed &EU diplomat8
told a reporter that plans for a drawdown were "nonsense."


7. (U) In one of the few mentions of Kosovo, Minister
Platter used one of the official press conferences to call on
NATO explicitly not to reduce its current troop strength in
Kosovo.

VIENNA 00000715 002 OF 002



Sudan: EU will cooperate with AU or UN
--------------


8. (U) Solana said that the main question on Darfur was
whether the AU should continue to head the force and expand
its responsibilities, or whether the UN should take over
these additional responsibilities. He stressed that the EU
would cooperate with either an AU or UN mission. He
confirmed that -- regardless of whether the mission remained
AU or went to the UN -- the vast majority of forces would be
African. He mentioned logistical support in the form of
strategic lift and communications as potential areas in which
non-African, possibly EU, forces could help.

Closer Civil-Military Cooperation
--------------


9. (U) In the first sessions on March 6, the ministers
discussed closer civil-military cooperation and EU operations
abroad. Platter noted that the United Kingdom, Austria and
Finland had decided to make civil-military cooperation a
centerpiece of their respective EU presidencies, ensuring
continuity in development of this issue. The EU civ-mil
initiative seeks better utilization of existing instruments
and infrastructure within the EU for EU-led disaster relief
operations. The EU Council will flesh out concrete proposalsQr implementing this policy, followed by a detailed report
to the EU Summit in June.

EDA Defense Research Fund: Basis for Agreement
-------------- -


10. (U) Regarding the proposal for a common fund to support
European defense research projects, Solana reported in a
March 7 press appearance with EDA chief executive Nick Witney
that all ministers have agreed on the "basis" of such a
project. However, he later noted that no country had
formally committed to it. He said that the fund would be
flexible enough to meet the needs of countries with extremely
diverse needs and capabilities. He emphasized that not every
country would have to participate in the fund. Force
projection is the proposed pilot research topic, with
possible follow-on projects in logistics, strategic lift and
transport. In response to a question about UK objections,
Solana conceded that the UK "prefers to do (defense research)
differently," but has nevertheless agreed with the basis of
the project. In a separate press conference immediately
afterwards, French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said
she was confident that the British would eventually
participate.

Long-Term Vision for EU Defense Capabilities
--------------


11. (U) Platter reported that the EU was making good
progress on battlegroups, but it was time to look beyond the
2010 goals and to develop a "long-term vision" to 2025 for EU
security policy. He said that a first version of such a
vision would be available by this fall. The document would
address three key questions: 1) In what areas should EU
capabilities be developed; 2) what areas of technical
development are most important; and 3) how will these needs
develop in the future. Platter said that the areas of rapid
decision-making, mission sustainability, and force
deployability were some of the key focuses. He also pointed
to air and sealift gaps as target areas.

Congo's Long Shadow
--------------


12. (SBU) COMMENT: While Platter and Solana claimed the
ministerial discussions were useful and productive, the lack
of concrete progress on a deployment to Congo overshadowed
other topics. Solana, in particular, was often placed on the
defensive on the status of the proposed mission. German
reluctance to commit to leading this mission was likely the
biggest stumbling block, as German Defense Minister Jung
repeatedly called for clearer parameters for the deployment
-- citing the need to convince a skeptical Bundestag to
endorse the mission. One of the most visible agenda items
prior to the meetings -- the proposal to launch the common
defense research fund -- in the end received little
attention, despite Solana's success in convincing skeptics
such as the British to allow work on the project to move
forward.
McCaw