Ten years on from the bilateral Anglo-French St Malo summit, which kicked off the modern European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP), France intends to put its EU Presidency to use to strengthen ‘Europe of defence’, provided its partners, notably Britain and Germany, allow it to do so.

The stated goal is to “strengthen all components of the ESDP” – European capabilities, ESDP instruments, strategic partnerships and the Lisbon Treaty – to make the EU a “global and independent player in crisis management”. France hopes to present to the European Council, in December 2008, a document allowing for the extension of the 2003 European security strategy to other aspects (climate change, energy and terrorism).

CAPABILITIES AND INSTRUMENTS

Boosting the EU’s capabilities will be on the agenda and, according to one diplomat, will even be the future Presidency’s “main priority”. The challenge will be “to rationalise the use of certain means, with limited means”.

The first project will be to enhance the interoperability of the battle groups and “streamline” the EU’s use of multinational forces, such as Eurocorps and EUROMARFOR, in which certain member states also participate. The idea is not really to use the battle groups for other tasks. “The concept is sound and extending it to other missions or using it in place of force generation conferences for a given operation would denature it and would have a negative impact at a later time; the states could refuse to take their turn on duty,” explained one military expert.

Instead, the aim is to move towards a concept of joint task forces – including maritime forces and the police – and also to enhance structuring with other European groups, for example, the battle group for initial rapid reaction and Eurocorps as relief or for the longer term (EU or NATO). There is a need to reinforce the common use of certain forces. “Why not a European air and sea group or the use of the aircraft of certain countries to secure the air space of other states?” asks a French official. With the maritime and air concepts approved, it is now time to adopt the concept of “military rapid response”.

An initial assessment of the (limited) reinforcement of the European Union Military Staff is planned for October, based on a report by the high representative (followed by post-Wiesbaden measures). The question is whether or not to continue in this direction.

The second project is the revision of the Athena mechanism. This biennial exercise comes at a crucial moment. The EUFOR Chad operation demonstrated that common financing is insufficient. The idea is to enlarge it, at least symmetrically, with what has been done in NATO. This may seem logical but is not easy to put into practice because the states that are net contributors have misgivings. It will be a question of getting recognition of the fact that the security of the 27 member states can no longer be financed by only four countries, explains a French official.

The Presidency also intends to adapt the joint action on the European Defence Agency and “to develop its operating budget,” and revise, if need be, the joint actions on the EU Satellite Centre in Torrejon and the EU Institute for Security Studies.

On European training, the French EU Presidency plans to amend the decision establishing the European Security and Defence College and to promote the project of a ‘military Erasmus’, on which there will be a conference in December.

INDUSTRIAL COOPERATION

France aims to make “progress on the arms industry and on nuclear technology,” according to a French official. “We could work with the Germans or the British on armoured vehicles or a submarine, for example.” Cooperation in the fields of space or intelligence is possible. With the arrival of the new Airbus A400M military tactical transport aircraft, by around 2010 to 2012, there is nothing to preclude, on the French side, alternative management of part of the French fleet at European level.

The French EU Presidency will also have to ensure at least the start-up, if not the completion, of a European defence market, with the two directives on the opening up of defence procurement and on the reduction of costs related to the movement of defence goods within the EU. The latter issue, on which France initially seemed reluctant, was negotiated at the highest level and adoption seems to be in the pipeline, with the inclusion of certain ‘safety nets’.

FOLLOW-UP OF OPERATIONS

On the operational side, the important point will be the mid-term review of the EUFOR Chad operation (September) and implementation of the EULEX mission in Kosovo (deployment is behind schedule). The Althea military operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina will also be reviewed and its future studied in terms of the ‘final state’ and the regional security context. What seems agreed at this point – it was repeated at the latest Defence Council – is that there will be no unilateral withdrawal of any member state. But it remains to be defined how to exit from this mission and what should replace it.

“Decisions will have to be taken” as well on EUPOL (police) Afghanistan, EUJUST LEX (rule of law) Iraq and EUBAM Rafah (borders). And although the issue of international piracy is not formally on the agenda, the French EU Presidency may have to deal with it if the UN adopts a resolution along those lines and if the EU decides to contribute to the effort. This participation would represent an important step for European maritime forces, which are not highly developed under the ESDP.

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

The priority of the strategic partnership with NATO is also expected to be reiterated. This usual reference in the different Presidency programmes could carry more weight this time. President Nicolas Sarkozy has made no secret of his wish to see France rejoin the NATO command, programmed for after the French EU Presidency, in 2009. Even if American openness to the idea, affirmed at the NATO summit in April in Bucharest, seems positive and the attitude to the Atlantic organisation “more pragmatic,” the stance of Britain and Germany will be decisive. But this could put an end to what appears to be a dormant competition between the two organisations.

Another strategic partnership to be examined is that with the African Union, which aims to reinforce peacekeeping troops on that continent. The convening of a Eurorecamp under the French EU Presidency may prove impossible (the planning delay could push it back to 2010).

The third partnership to be reviewed is the more political one with Russia, which could offer the opportunity to address sensitive issues such as the question of missiles or the eastward enlargement of NATO, as well as the situation in Kosovo, Georgia or Transnistria.

LISBON TREATY

The Presidency will have to bring to conclusion the preparatory work for the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, in particular by coming to a decision on the reorganisation of the military-political chain, since the high representative will soon wear two hats – vice-president of the European Commission and stable president of the External Relations Council –, and because the Political and Security Committee (PSC) will also have a stable presidency.

Based on all these proposals, there appears to be a change in the strategic approach taken by France. Major projects championed by the country, such as a European headquarters or a European army, seem to be a thing of the past, or at least they are no longer being identified as immediate objectives. Indeed, such projects often raised the hackles of France’s European partners, and “not just Britain, where this question is extremely sensitive”. Those are “very interesting ideas but they have not changed anything,” say aides to President Sarkozy, who also highlight the statement by George Bush, at the latest NATO summit in Bucharest, “recognising for the first time the need for a European defence”.

The priority of the strategic partnership with NATO is also expected to be reiterated

Meetings and events

The informal Council of Defence Ministers will be held on 2 and 3 October 2008 in Deauville (Normandy). A visit will be organised to the Caen Memorial Museum (history of the 20th century and World War II). A review of European naval forces could be held in late October in Toulon. For other (provisional) defence and security events, see www.europolitics.info > Search > 227012