EUHR Solana's address to the Institute for European Affairs

Summary: May 21, 2003: Address by Javier Solana, EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, to the Institute for European Affairs (Dublin)

Ladies and gentlemen,

Introduction

I welcome this opportunity to meet with you and to bring you up to date on developments in the European Union's Security and Defence Policy. For me, this is an occasion to resume a dialogue on security issues which we began when I last visited Ireland. To ensure that we have time for an exchange of views, I will keep my comments brief. I will focus on where we stand at present in the development of ESDP and on some of the challenges we face in the near future.

The current state of play

When I last spoke to you, European Security and Defence Policy was still on the drawing board. We knew what we had to achieve, but we were still at the early planning stage. Since then, our security and defence policy has left the drawing board and entered the field. Today, it is a reality. It is beginning to make a difference to the lives of people in communities which have suffered from violence and instability for years.

Let me give you some examples of how we are making a difference.

Only seven years ago, when the Dayton peace agreement was signed, policing in Bosnia was in the hands of armed nationalist para-militaries. Four months ago, the first ever European operation was launched in Bosnia.

The European Union Police Mission is working with the authorities in Bosnia to build a professional and democratic police force, acceptable to all communities. This work is being done by 500 police officers and 50 civilian experts. Among them are 3 Irish police officers. They are working to monitor, mentor, assist and inspect ongoing police reforms. They aim to bring police standards in Bosnia up to a level which we in the EU take for granted.

The mission's main priorities are to support the return of refugees to their homes and to assist in the fight against organized crime. One of the most serious challenges we face in Bosnia is the trafficking of women and girls. We have no firm statistics, but the International Organization for Migration estimates that as many as 200,000 women are transported to or through the Balkans each year. Many come from the former Soviet Union. Many arrive in Bosnia and remain there. Only one day after the operation began, the EU Police Mission assisted the local police in raids on bars and nightclubs across the country. This helped to send a clear signal that these activities will not be tolerated.

Since then, efforts to address this problem have continued non-stop.

Our Security and Defence Policy is also on the ground in Macedonia. Two years ago, the EU with our international partners acted early and decisively to prevent a crisis in Macedonia from erupting into violent conflict. We deployed monitors to areas of conflict. We sought to defuse tensions by ensuring the rapid delivery of humanitarian and development assistance. We maintained a constant pressure on all political parties to enter into dialogue. We helped to broker a political agreement between the parties at Ohrid. This agreement paved the way for a ceasefire and for the deployment of NATO troops. It is no exaggeration to say that these actions were instrumental in preventing the eruption and spread of a new war in the Balkans. Since then we have been working with the government and people of Macedonia to put fully democratic and accountable structures and institutions in place. That is a a long-term commitment.

Six weeks ago, the first EU-led military operation, Operation Concordia was launched at the invitation of the Government in Skopje. The mission is a small one, comprising 350 troops. But its task is vital. Its job is to ensure that the security conditions are in place to allow political reforms to continue. It will help oversee the political reforms agreed at Ohrid, to monitor the security situation and protect international monitors in the country. Operation Concordia is a good example of how the EU is working in partnership with one of our neighbours to build a better future for its citizens.

This is ESDP in the field. Both missions show clearly the direction in which ESDP has been moving.

- Each contributes to prevent further conflict and to build the foundation for a stable peace. Conflict prevention lies at the heart of our work. It is a central aim of our external policies. The missions aim to help the authorities on the ground to deal with problems themselves. They are designed and implemented in a spirit of partnership and are aimed at ensuring that eventually these communities take responsibility for their own security.
Both missions are built on close cooperation with other international institutions. The EU Police Mission in Bosnia is building on the excellent work begun by the United Nations Police Mission. We have taken on this job at the request of the UN. Kofi Annan has strongly encouraged regional organizations to take greater responsibility for crisis management in their regions. The EU is taking the lead in showing how this can be achieved. By freeing the UN of this responsibility in our own neighbourhood, we are enabling it to take on other responsibilities elsewhere. In Macedonia, Operation Concordia builds on the work of NATO and uses NATO assets.
Participation in both missions is voluntary and open. The police mission in Bosnia has personnel from thirty-four countries embracing all EU members and our partners from Canada to Ukraine and Russia. In Macedonia we have personnel from 13 EU members and 14 non-EU states ranging from Iceland to Turkey. Those who say that the European Union is developing into a military block need look no further than the composition of these missions.

Immediate challenges for ESDP

In the immediate future, against the background of a changing security environment, I believe that we face three challenges as we develop our security policies:

- delivering a comprehensive and responsive approach to security;
- delivering the capabilities in support of this approach; and
- building effective partnerships in pursuit of security.

These are each challenges for Ireland's Presidency of the EU next year. Ireland's long tradition of peacekeeping is an important asset for the EU as we set out to address these new challenges. You have a record of substantial achievement in the UN, most recently as a member of the Security Council. I am happy to have an Irishman as Head of the EU Monitoring Mission in the former Yugoslavia - this is Ambassador MacUnfraidh.

Allow me to elaborate briefly on each of the challenges I have identified.

Building a comprehensive approach to security

There is a tendency to think of security largely in terms of military and civilian crisis management. This is a mistake. I would like to broaden the terms of the discussion. The most successful security strategy ever pursued by the EU has been the enlargement process. It is the only process which transforms societies. In a relatively short space of time, it has transformed a potential source of instability on our continent into a comprehensive partnership. I believe that this is what John Hume meant when he described the EU as the most successful example of conflict prevention in history.

Chris Patten and I have worked to achieve a comprehensive approach to security in the Western Balkans. Our approach links the Stability and Association Agreements, trade, and development, with judicial, police and military instruments. Our comparative advantage as the European Union is that we can combine all of these instruments to rebuild peaceful and stable societies.

Next year, we are likely to link this full range of instruments together for the first time to assume responsibility from NATO for peacekeeping in Bosnia. It will be a major undertaking - the most ambitious crisis management operation yet undertaken by the EU. It will also mark a milestone in our relations with Bosnia. For the first time, the EU will be applying a full spectrum of instruments in support of peaceful transformation: development assistance, trade, institution building, support for the administration of justice and peacekeeping. Planning for this will be a major task for Ireland's Presidency. If we are to achieve this, we will need to develop our capabilities and deepen our partnerships for security. These are the second and third challenges.

Building effective capabilities

We cannot assume a full range of security responsibilities - in Bosnia or further afield - without further development of our capabilities. We have been working to address this and we have made good progress. But much work remains to be done. This requires more spending on defense but it also requires smarter spending, more pooling of resources and an improved ability to put our resources together efficiently in the field. Building more effective capabilities in support of our security policy will be a crucial challenge for Ireland's Presidency.

Building effective partnerships

A third challenge will be to build more effective partnerships in support of our goals. Let me briefly mention three key partnerships: the UN, NATO and the United States.

It is safe to say that our working relations with the United Nations are deeper and closer than ever before. Our presence in Bosnia responds to a request from the UN. It has generated a network of contacts which has deepened and strengthened our partnership at all levels. As the European Union becomes operational in new areas, this partnership can only deepen.

Our working relations with NATO are on a firm, clear and agreed basis which respects the autonomy of each organisation. The implementation of permanent arrangements between the EU and NATO have given us a solid foundation for a strategic partnership in crisis management. This is being taken forward in the Balkans in particular.

Much has been written in recent weeks on the state of our relationship with the United States. Some say that the differences between us were specific to Iraq: that they will pass. Others say that there are fundamental differences in how Europe and the US approach new security problems and that we are on diverging paths which can only lead to deeper differences in the future. A third group sees the dispute as essentially one between "old" and "new" Europe. I disagree with all these interpretations.

It would be a mistake to brush our differences under the carpet and ignore them. The differences are real. If we ignore them, we run the risk of deeper problems. Likewise, it would be a mistake to concentrate on what separates us at the expense of what connects us. I am talking about the ties of blood and history which have established strong networks across the Atlantic. I am also talking about the ties of trade and business which lie at the heart of all European economies, not least the Irish economy.

As I see it, the way forward in EU-US relations lies in practical cooperation on issues of mutual concern: I am talking about tackling the problem of Weapons of Mass Destruction, of reconstructing Iraq, of making progress on the road map for the Middle East, of ensuring effective cooperation between the EU and NATO on crisis management. In working together on these issues, the EU and the US will be reminded of what has united us in the past, and why our cooperation is so necessary. Building further on this cooperation will be a challenge for Ireland's Presidency and one for which I know Ireland is well equipped.

Addressing new challenges

Security is everybody's business. It is a concern for all EU citizens. Many of these concerns are not conventional security threats.

The use of weapons of mass destructionwould have unimaginable, immediate and global consequences.
If organised crime is not tackled aggressively and effectively, the effects will continue to corrode society in the countries of origin and in our societies too. Organised crime groups from former Yugoslavia now control around 70% of the heroin distribution in several European countries.
Terrorism threatens all of our citizens and all of our societies. This is well understood in Ireland where many families were touched directly or indirectly by the attack on the World Trade Centre. In the past week alone, terrorist attacks have killed over 100 people including citizens of France, Spain and Italy. Terrorist targets have included a Spanish social club, a Belgian consulate and residential compounds housing many Europeans, including Irish citizens.
We cannot separate our development and trade interests from our security interests. As resources become more scarce, the potential for conflict grows. If we are to be proactive in preventing future violent conflicts, then environmental degradation, AIDS, poverty and good governance must be placed at the centre of our security thinking.

We can each contribute in different ways to the development of a European security identity. We can opt not to participate in specific operations or specific measures. But we can none of us opt out of the search for security. The question for each of us is not whether but how.

Thank you.

Ref: SP03-227EN
EU source: Council
UN forum:
Date: 21/5/2003

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