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Europe: Parliamentarians call for tougher EU defence

01 August 2006

A report from the European Parliament's committee on foreign affairs calls for the inclusion of "geopolitical and geo-economic challenges of the increasing worldwide competition for sources of water and energy, as well as natural disasters and the security of the Union's external borders" as a strategic objective in the further development of the European Security Strategy.

The current European Security Strategy, contained in a document of December 2003 (the so-called Solana-paper) only mentions international terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, failed states and organized crime as main threats facing the EU. The report, written by conservative MEP, Karl von Wogau, asks for updating the strategy every five years, to begin with 2008 "at the latest".

The report notes that the union "is on the way to developing into a Defence and Security Union as well", although NATO "remains the guarantor of collective defence". Furthermore the report calls for a standing EU naval force in the Mediterranean "to demonstrate European presence and enhance the EU's crisis management potential in this region" and for "the Civilian and Military Cell and the Operations Centre be upgraded to become a European Headquarters for carrying out civil-military missions."

The report was carried by a large majority (30-9) of the committee members. Greens and GUE/New Left voted against.

European Parliament, "Report on the Implementation of the European Security Strategy in the context of ESDP". Committee on Foreign Affairs, 18.10.06: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=->//EP//NONSGML+REPORT+A6-2006-0366+0+DOC+PDF+V0//EN&
language=EN; Defense News 6.10.06 (Brooks Tigner); AFP, 16.11.06