Joint Committee on European Affairs, 18 November 2004, General Affairs and External Relations Council, Statement by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Dermot Ahern, TD - Part II

EXTERNAL RELATIONS European Security and Defence Policy With the agreement of the Chairperson, I will turn first to the basket of European Security and Defence Policy items at this month’s Council. Of particular importance are the Civilian and the Military Capabilities Commitment Conferences which will take place in the margins of the Council. I will be attending the Civilian Conference and Minister O’Dea will attend the Military Conference. These Conferences are designed to enable the Union to be in a position to respond to crises situations beyond our borders with a range of resources, both civilian and military. This means having the capability to rapidly deploy a military peacekeeping operation; it also means being able to follow-up this deployment with an operation which focuses on training police or providing advice on re-establishing a functioning judicial system. A practical example of this type of approach is the EU’s engagement in Bosnia-Herzegovina. A very successful police mission - the EUPM - has been underway in Bosnia since January 2003, led by Assistant Commissioner Kevin Carty from An Garda Siochána, which focuses on training and mentoring the Bosnian police force in areas such as the fight against organised crime, border control and improving cooperation between the police and judiciary. At the same time, the Union is preparing to launch a military crisis management mission, Operation Althea, which will take over the duties of the Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina and will provide a stable and secure environment for the continued development and reconstruction of Bosnian society. Subject to the adoption of a UN mandate and Dáil approval, the Government intends Ireland to contribute 52 Defence Forces personnel to Operation Althea. The aim of Monday’s Capabilities Commitment Conferences is to further develop the Union’s capacity to carry out these types of missions. At the Civilian Capabilities Commitment Conference, it is expected that Ministers will declare that the EU has exceeded the targets it has already set for itself in terms of the number of personnel available to take part in civilian missions. Ireland will re-affirm its commitments in this area, which include the availability of up to 80 Gardaí and 10 Rule of Law experts for deployment to missions on a voluntary and case-by-case basis. The Military Capabilities Commitment Conference will deal mainly with the issue of so-called ‘Battlegroups’ or Rapid Response Elements. Current indications are that all Member States, with the exception of Denmark (which has an opt-out in the ESDP area) and Malta will indicate that they will participate in the initiative. Those of you who attended the presentation by the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to the National Forum on Europe will recall the importance which the UN attaches to the role of regional organisations in carrying out peacekeeping tasks. The Secretary General made clear that, in his view, the ‘Battlegroups’ initiative can play an important role in support of the UN, specifically in situations which require rapid deployment. The issue of Ireland’s participation was reviewed by the Government on Tuesday. No decision has yet been made on whether Ireland will participate in Rapid Response Elements and a further examination of the detailed aspects of any such participation will be undertaken before any final decision to participate. Moving on from the Capabilities Commitment Conferences, the Council will also approve a number of initiatives in the EDSP area. These include the Action Plan for ESDP Support to Peace and Security in Africa and Guidelines for the Work Programme of the European Defence Agency for 2005 and the Agency’s budget for 2005. Ministers will also review the operation of the Athena Financing Mechanism for crisis management operations, in the light of lessons learned from the financing of the first EU military crisis management operations in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2003. I will now turn to the other External Relations items on the agenda. Middle East Peace Process The Middle East Peace Process will be discussed against the background of the recent death of President Arafat. You will recall that earlier this month the European Council endorsed the short-term programme of action in the fields of security, reforms, elections and the economy proposed by High Representative Solana. The Council also invited him to conduct consultations with the parties, the international community and especially the Quartet on how to relaunch a meaningful political process of negotiations leading to a peaceful settlement. I expect that we will devote much of the discussion to considering progress and prospects for these measures. While as yet no draft Conclusions have been circulated, it seems reasonable to expect that Conclusions will be adopted setting out the Union’s views on how the parties and the international community can best advance the peaceful resolution of the conflict in the wake of recent events. It is important that stability be maintained and if possible built upon within the Palestinian Authority. The death of President Arafat is an unparalleled change in the political landscape of the region. It confronts the Palestinian leadership with significant challenges in managing the transition and ensuring that progress is maintained in the peace process. The EU will need to make clear its willingness to support the interim leadership and the elections which will take place in the coming weeks. My hope is that the death of President Arafat will lead to a refocusing of minds on the imperative need to get the peace process back on track. The EU has stated its readiness to help the Palestinian Authority in its efforts to move forward on the Roadmap. Top