EU CRISIS RESPONSE CAPABILITY REVISITED Europe Report N°160 – 17 January 2005 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..................................................................................................... i I. INTRODUCTION: THE STRATEGIC CONTEXT .................................................. 1 II. STRUCTURE AND FRAMEWORK ........................................................................... 4 A. THE BIG BANG ENLARGEMENT.............................................................................................4 B. THE EUROPEAN CONSTITUTION ............................................................................................4 1. The death and rebirth of the Intergovernmental Conference.....................................4 2. The European Foreign Minister.................................................................................8 3. Legal personality and external representation ...........................................................9 C. ONGOING DEBATES...............................................................................................................9 1. "Enhanced" and "Structured" cooperation....................................................................9 2. Which headquarters?................................................................................................10 3. Financing ESDP.......................................................................................................11 D. THE COMMISSION ...............................................................................................................12 1. The Directorates-General.........................................................................................12 2. European Commission Delegations.........................................................................13 3. Specialised Units .....................................................................................................14 E. THE COUNCIL .....................................................................................................................16 1. The High Representative and the Council Secretariat .............................................16 2. General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) ....................................18 3. Committee of the Permanent Representatives (COREPER) ...................................18 4. Political and Security Committee (PSC) .................................................................18 5. European Union Military Committee (EUMC).......................................................19 6. European Union Military Staff (EUMS) .................................................................19 7. Committee for Civilian Aspects of Crisis Management (CIVCOM) ......................20 8. European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM)......................................................20 F. EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT.....................................................................................................20 G. MEMBER STATES ................................................................................................................21 III. CAPABILITIES............................................................................................................ 22 A. HEADLINE GOALS, ECAP AND THE MISSING CAPABILITIES................................................24 B. THE EUROPEAN DEFENCE AGENCY (EDA) .........................................................................27 C. THE EU-NATO RELATIONSHIP ..........................................................................................28 D. CIVILIAN CAPABILITIES ......................................................................................................30 E. THIRD-COUNTRY CONTRIBUTIONS......................................................................................32 IV. PRACTICES AND POLICIES ................................................................................... 33 A. CONFLICT PREVENTION ......................................................................................................33 1. International Peacebuilding Regimes ......................................................................33 2. In-country peacebuilding .........................................................................................37 3. Preventive action .....................................................................................................42 B. CONFLICT MANAGEMENT ...................................................................................................44 1. Diplomatic peacemaking .........................................................................................44 2. Traditional peacekeeping.........................................................................................45 3. Sanctions..................................................................................................................45 V. OPERATIONS.............................................................................................................. 46 A. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (DRC).........................................................................46 B. MACEDONIA .......................................................................................................................48 C. BOSNIA ...............................................................................................................................49 VI. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................. 52 APPENDICES A. GLOSSARY ..........................................................................................................................53 B. ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP .......................................................................55 C. CRISIS GROUP REPORTS AND BRIEFINGS SINCE JANUARY 2002..........................................56 D. CRISIS GROUP BOARD MEMBERS........................................................................................58 Europe Report N°160 17 January 2005 EU CRISIS RESPONSE CAPABILITY REVISITED EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Three years after Crisis Group first took a snapshot of however, still question whether the EU can not only European Union crisis response capacity, much has talk but walk. changed for the better in both conflict prevention and conflict management. Mechanisms then only planned The EU and NATO now speak to and about each other or just introduced such as the Political and Security constantly in Brussels, and they are beginning to get Committee are functioning well; important new ones daily experience of each other in the field in more than such as the European Defence Agency have come on one Balkans location. A great deal more work is line. The enlarged EU has gained experience with required, however, to ensure that the relationship is a police and military missions in the Balkans and truly complementary one, as envisaged in the Africa and has just launched its most ambitious important "Berlin Plus" arrangements they reached in operation, replacing NATO as Bosnia's primary 2003. European armed forces that are stronger, flexible security provider. Nevertheless, many old problems and more interoperable would make the EU a much of Council/Commission coordination have not been better partner not only for the U.S. but for the UN and resolved, and fundamental questions about member regional organisations as well. On the other hand, an state political will to act together are being asked EU failure to improve its capabilities would only with more urgency in the post 9/11, post-Iraq War strengthen the unfortunate argument of some in the environment. The Constitution adopted in June 2004 U.S. that America should increasingly go it alone. will help if it is ratified but the EU cannot afford to let momentum slow by turning inward during the This report is not a comprehensive examination of all difficult year or two while that issue is fought out. aspects of EU foreign policy but rather, like its predecessor, an overview of those aspects that relate The reason is simple for pushing forward on conflict particularly to the important field of crisis response management capabilities and for acting to the greatest and management, civilian and military. It is written extent possible as if the Constitution's provisions for a wider than specialist readership, to draw relating to Common Foreign and Security Policy attention to developments within the EU that have (CFSP) were already in force. The world has become been both rapid and not as well understood or if anything more dangerous in the past three years. appreciated as they deserve to be. The EU is the only serious partner in sight that can significantly help the U.S. deal with a wide range of Brussels, 17 January 2005 security problems -- and with the potential strength to cause Washington to take notice from time to time of constructive criticism and alternative policies. That will not happen until the Union builds some further military muscle and above all learns how to punch at a higher political weight. The European Security Strategy (ESS), adopted in 2003, is a blueprint for what a coherent European foreign policy should look like but it is as yet mostly words on paper. There is hope that the progressive "mainstreaming" of political and conflict issues into development aid and trade deals will result in a renewed debate on reinforcing conditionality in the whole of EU external assistance. Many observers, Europe Report N°160