EU AGREES ON SOMALIA SECURITY FORCES TRAINING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 001598 SIPDIS ADDIS PLEASE PASS TO USAU E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/20/2019 TAGS: MARR MOPS PREL EUN XW SO SUBJECT: EU AGREES ON SOMALIA SECURITY FORCES TRAINING MISSION REF: USEU BRUSSELS 1561 BRUSSELS 00001598 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Acting Political Minister-Counselor Mary Curtin for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: On November 17, EU Foreign and Defense Ministers agreed on the Crisis Management Concept for an EU-led military mission to train 2,000-3,000 Somali security forces, which will probably begin in early 2010. The EU has now started operational planning for a mission comprising 100-200 EU military personnel. The operation is likely to be conducted in Uganda. Spain, which takes over the EU Presidency in January, has offered to provide trainers and an administrative and logistics framework, pledging approximately 100 personnel for those purposes. France (30 trainers),Germany (up to 10),and Hungary (5-7) also signaled potential contributions. Contacts tell us the EU has not yet resolved thorny issues such as the payment of Somali forces' salaries, equipping the Somali forces, and providing for follow-on mentoring by AMISOM, but the pressure is on to have EU Foreign Ministers approve a Military Strategic Options paper at their December 7 meeting. End Summary. -------------- PRESSURE FOR EARLY 2010 LAUNCH -------------- ¶2. (C) On November 17, EU Foreign and Defense Ministers formally approved a Crisis Management Concept for a European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) military operation to train 2,000-3,000 Somali National Security Force personnel. The operation, which will probably take place in Uganda, will involve 100-200 EU military personnel. ¶3. (C) A contact in the German Permanent Representation told PolOff on November 23 that there is considerable pressure, particularly from Spain and France, to launch the operation early in 2010. To that end, ministers approved only a makeshift Crisis Management Concept -- little more than several options papers and fact-finding mission readouts "stapled together," according to our contact. French contacts tell USEU that on November 24, EU Political and Security Committee (PSC) Ambassadors tasked the EU Military Staff to prepare a Military Strategic Options (MSO) paper, which the Military Staff could present to the PSC as early as this week. The goal is to have Foreign Ministers approve an MSO at their December 7 meeting. This timeline would permit mission launch in early 2010, soon after Spain takes over the EU Presidency. ¶4. (C) According to a German contact, EU Member States are pursuing this timeline despite unanswered questions about difficult issues such as equipping the troops and the payment of salaries after the training, for which European Community funds are off-limits (reftel). Some Member States are also concerned about the supervision and mentoring of trained Somali forces once they return to Mogadishu. Noting the same concerns among several Member States, our French contacts suggested that approval of an MSO at the December 7 ministerial is unlikely. -------------- FORCE GENERATION BEGINNING -------------- ¶5. (C) German and French contacts said Spain, at the ministerial meeting, pledged to act as a logistics and administrative framework nation for the training mission and to provide approximately 100 personnel. The German contact said France indicated its willingness to contribute 30 trainers, while Germany and Hungary offered 10 and 5-7 personnel respectively. BRUSSELS 00001598 002.2 OF 002 ¶6. (C) USEU contacts indicate that the EU will train Somali security forces in Uganda. This would allow some level of Ugandan support or role in the mission, although details have not yet been finalized. French contacts tell us that France, which recently completed a bilateral effort to train Somali forces in Djibouti, supports a Uganda training location in order to relieve Paris of the logistical and administrative burden that could accompany a mission in Djibouti, where France has a base. The EU is currently contemplating a six-month training program, but one German contact said there some Member States advocate adopting a flexible timeline for the mission, which suggests EU Member States could be open to training further contingents of Somali forces if their initial mission is deemed successful. Murray