Roberto Gualtieri MEP, Strasbourg/Brussels

Security and Defence In the defence sector, the EU has in reality not more than a declaratory role. There is some hope, but nowhere real progress.

Roberto Gualtieri MEP............................................. 24 Françoise Hostalier MP/ Jean-Pierre Kucheida MP ...... 27 Claude-France Arnould............................................ 29 Olivier Jehin.......................................................... 32 Dr. Rainer Martens.................................................. 32 Patrick Bellouard.............................................. 34 Murad Bayar..................................................... 37 Antoine Bouvier............................................... 39 Joseph A. Ghattas............................................ 42 Hans H. Kühl................................................... 44

EU Security and Defence urgently needs new impetus. Can the comprehensive approach save CSDP? The CSDP and its developments after Lisbon

by Roberto Gualtieri MEP, Brussels/Strasbourg

The European Parliament (EP) adopted, with the support of all of the pro-European political groups (EPP, S&D, ELDR, Greens), the “Report on the development of the common security and defence policy following the entry into force of the Lisbon Trea - ty”. The Report is an important contribution to the debate on the future of the CSDP, containing not only con crete proposals on different aspects of CSDP, but also offering a broader view of the EU’s problems and opportunities as a global security actor. It also offers a strategic partnership bet ween the EP, the EU institutions and other stakeholders with the goal of a consistent and coherent security and defence policy embedded in the EU external and internal action.

The Leitmotiv: A comprehensive approach The Leitmotiv of the Report is the comprehensive approach to crisis management and conflict prevention. This approach is, on one hand, required by the transformations in the international system and the emergence of a multi-dimensional and trans-national concept of security. On the other hand, it is

Roberto Gualtieri MEP

He is the Social and Democrats coordinator for

the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on

Security and Defence. His political career began

in 2001 as Member of the Rome Secretariat of

the Democratici di Sinistra and is currently a

Member of the National Direction of the Demo

cratic Party. In addition to his work as the

Deputy Director of the Gramsci Foundation, he is

also the Director (with José Luis Rhi-Sausi) of the “Annual Report on

European Integration” (Il Mulino Editor). Mr. Gualtieri is an author of

various books on Italian and international history of the 20 th

century and

a contributor of many articles to newspapers and magazines. He holds a degree in Literature and Philosophy, as well as a PhD in Contemporary History. made possible by the new provisions of the Lisbon Treaty and the establishment of the European External Action Service. The Report underlines how the Lisbon Treaty (with the new role of the HR/VP, the end of the pillar structure and the placement of the CFSP/CSDP within the legally binding institutional framework of EU principles) encourages convergence of different policies, instruments and legal bases within a comprehensive approach. This contributes to peace and security becoming a cross-cutting objective of EU external and internal action.

We are starting to have some initial examples of such a new comprehensive and flexible approach to framing CFSP and fully harnessing CSDP assets toward the service of EU external action. This new approach has overcome traditional procedural and institutional barriers, while at the same time fully respecting the prerogatives of the different institutions. A good example has been the EU Military Staff’s coordination of military capabilities in support of civilian-led humanitarian relief operations during the 2010 Pakistan floods. Yet there is still much to be done. The Report expresses concern for the inadequate speed of development in this process. The main obstacle is, of course, political and is linked to the attitude of the Member States towards CFSP and CSDP.

The unwillingness of the EU Member States to define a common position on the Libyan crisis is definitely a bad signal. It is worth noting that the Parliament clearly states in the Report that ad hoc coalitions of the willing and bilateral cooperation cannot be considered as viable substitutes for CSDP. This is because today no single European State has the capacity to be a significant security and defence actor.

Lack of mutual trust can be fatal That is why the Report calls on the Member States to improve internal cohesion and mutual trust in the area of foreign and defence policy. It also urges the European Council to draw up,

while engaging in a political dialogue with the European Parliament, a true European Foreign Policy Strategy combining the various dimensions of EU external action. The dialogue is im - portant because a strong CFSP/CSDP based on a real comprehensive approach requires the support and cooperation of all the EU institutions. The new legislative, budgetary and political prerogatives of the European Parliament make its role greater and more necessary than it may seem, especially if we take into account the way in which the Council makes decisions on CFSP and CSDP. The High Representative / Vice President (HR/VP) Another key actor in a strong CSDP is of course the HR/VP, actually Baroness Ashton, whose new responsibilities represent a merging of functions, ma - king her role central to the process of bringing the various instruments, actors and procedures of EU external action into a coherent relationship. That is why the European Parliament encourages the HR/VP to be proactive and commits itself to support her in every effort aimed at implementing a consistent and coherent CFSP/CSDP. Here the function of the EEAS is crucial. Crisis management board The Report contains many proposals on strengthening and coor dinating the civilian and military crisis management structures. In fact, the Parliament calls for establishing a crisis ma - na gement board composed of the CSDP structures, the peacebuilding, conflict prevention, mediation and security policy units, and the geographical desks with the participation of the Commission humanitarian aid, civil protection and internal se - curity structures. This board should provide contingency planning and crisis response management, coordinating the use of the various financial instruments and the deployment of capabilities available to the EU. This should be done without prejudice either to the specific decision-making process and legal basis of the deployment of civilian and military capabilities under CFSP/CSDP or to the use of Community instruments. It must be said that after the Southern Mediterranean events, such a body is under experimentation. The Parliament welcomes these developments and supports strengthening the crisis management board in line with the Report. Policy needs corresponding means According to the European Parliament, a comprehensive approach to security, which fully involves the different instruments of EU external action, and gives priority to conflict pre - vention, political response to crises, disarmament and non-proliferation, does not contradict the need for credible, reliable and available military capabilities. On the contrary, these capa - bilities are essential. The Report underlines the risk that current economic austerity may lead to cuts not concentrated at the

European level, which might reduce national military capabilities while still maintaining the overlapping roles. That is why the Report con - tains a strong call for smarter defence spending based on the “Europeanization” of national defence models and the pooling of a larger proportion of defence capa bilities. While welcoming the recent initiatives (Ghent framework, German-Swedish paper, Weimar initiative), the Report underlines that the moving without delay to the operative phase is crucial. The crucial role of the European Defence Agency In this respect a crucial role should be played by the European Defence Agency, which according to the Treaty should participate in defining a “European capabilities and armaments policy”. For this reason the EDA should be strengthened both in terms of political commitments by the participating Member States and in terms of its human and economic resources. But a new European capability and armaments policy requires the strong commitment and participation of all of the EU institutions, bodies and Member States. The Parliament calls for an extraordinary European Council meeting dedicated to security and defence, aimed at giving political impulse and strategic dimension to this policy. “… the European Parliament is ready to fully exert its new prerogatives to support CSDP as a fundamental instrument to enhance the EU strategic autonomy and uphold its values.”

Stop the competition between the EU Institutions At the same time, the Report proposes establishing a strong partnership between the Commission, Parliament, Council and EDA to support security-related research and enhance dual-use capabilities through the Eight Framework Programme. It also recommends that Member States comply with the deadlines for the full transposition of the directives on transfer of defence-related products within the Union and on procurement in the fields of defence and security. This is in order to strengthen and make more efficient and competitive the European defence market.

It is high time for a combined EU civil-military HQ In the field of military CSDP, the Report supports the creation of a military Operational Headquarters to be co-located with the civilian HQ in order to overcome the current imbalance in the planning and execution of civilian and military operations. The recent difficulties experienced in the Libyan crisis, linked to the political divisions among Member States, are in part a consequence of the lack of such a structure. In this respect, the Parliament welcomes the HR/VP’s recognition of the need for an EU military capability and is ready to contribute to the cost

efficiency analysis called for by Ms. Ashton. If properly conducted, such an analysis would likely show that the costs of not having an OHQ are greater than the costs of establishing it.

Internal and external security are definitively linked together The Report contains many other proposals, for example on a Battlegroup specializing in niche capabilities suited to low-intensity conflict and on charging Battlegroup costs under the Athena mechanism. It also focuses on the current missions, on the relationship between external and internal security, and on the partnerships between the EU and other organisations and States. Politically, its adoption signals that the European Par - lia ment is ready to fully exert its new prerogatives to support CSDP as a fundamental instrument to enhance the EU strategic autonomy and uphold its values. We hope that the other European and national institutions will understand this message and will contribute to overcoming the current difficulties by translating the provisions and spirit of the Lisbon Treaty into reality. Such steps will transform the EU into a real global security actor, able to face the challenges and seize the opportunities of the new century.