In an interview withEuropolitics, Germany’s defence minister expresses his support for the European operation against pirates in Somalia’s waters and denies that Germany is less enthusiastic about ‘Europe of defence’ than before. When the practical issues are raised, however (enlargement of the battle group mandate, joint financing of military operations or strengthening of the EU Military Staff in Brussels), the minister does not appear very keen on the projects of the French EU Presidency.

With the repeated attacks by pirates in Somali waters, do you consider it necessary to implement a European operation? Will Germany participate, and to what extent?

I am satisfied that the European Union is capable of setting up such a mission and we support it. As far as Germany is concerned, we now need a mandate from the Bundestag to adopt a political decision. Then, at European level, there is a need to decide which countries will participate in the mission and what types of means they are prepared to make available. The current plans for the mission provide for three frigates, a support vessel and three reconnaissance and naval surveillance aircraft. Germany could participate with a frigate, but that has to be part of the negotiations by the member states on the precise definition of the mission.

Would that be in addition to what Germany is already contributing in the framework of Task Force 150?

Yes. This is an additional contribution, separate from Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), which is an anti-terrorist operation. From November, we will have, in the context of OEF, a vessel in the zone where we are currently putting in place a maritime patrol plane based in Djibouti.

Germany gives the impression of being more reluctant or less keen on ‘Europe of defence’ lately.

I do not have that impression. We want to make our contribution to the ‘Europe of defence’. We have come a long way since the Cologne decision in 1999, for instance the missions in Bosnia, the Congo, and the operation about to be launched in Somalia. Germany participates in the battle groups [the EU’s rapid response force], which we are continuing to develop. At the Deauville meeting [of EU defence ministers], we expressed our support for developing the EU’s capabilities, such as the helicopter initiative and naval surveillance. These are the projects that are taking ‘Europe of defence’ forward. European military capability must evolve. That is what Europe needs.

May I ask three test questions on Germany’s commitment to ‘Europe of defence’? First, the battle groups are not really being used today. Should their mandate be enlarged to engage them in a theatre of operations as a preliminary force?

The battle groups are designed to be a rescue force, with operational availability within ten days to control crises. That is their mandate. Today, they only encompass army units. What is important is to enlarge the battle groups to include naval and air forces and to have greater reaction capability.

Second, do you think it is necessary to revise the joint financing arrangements for military operations, what is known as the Athena mechanism, as recommended by the French EU Presidency?

I would say that each member state should put in place whatever capabilities it can spare for common action. We have a principle in Europe: costs must be borne where they are created. That has a consequence: when a state contributes a high level of military means and is called on to contribute to the common financing, it is ‘punished’ twice, so to speak. For example, for the helicopter initiative, we have just ordered €28.5 million worth of equipment. And for the Airbus A400M, we have ordered 60 aircraft. I would not like to receive a bill tomorrow for a contribution to the common costs of equipment we have already financed. That bill has to be sent to the member states that are not participating with their own forces and their own resources.

And third, what do you think about the idea of having a stronger European Union Military Staff in Brussels?

We support a European planning capability and command. The high representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy must have more powers so that Europe will have real capacity for action. It is rather this approach that allows us to think about a possible reorganisation of the remits of the various headquarters, knowing that any duplication of headquarters’ responsibilities must be avoided.

The minister’s profile

Born on 5 March 1949 in Eltville (Land of Hesse), a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), he has served as defence minister in Angela Merkel’s government since 22 November 2005. He passed his A-levels (Abitur) in 1968. After his military service (1969-1970), Jung studied law at Mainz University (1970-1974) and earned his doctorate in 1978. But he has always been interested in politics. As MP for Rheingau-Taunus (1972-1987), he has spent a good part of his career in his native Land in the CDU parliamentary group (of which he was elected president in 2003) and in the government of Hesse (minister for federal and European affairs 1999-2000).