Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-09-25-Speech-3-098"
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"en.20020925.5.3-098"2
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".
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen of the European Parliament, it is a very great honour, as deputy Foreign Minister of Greece, to address you today on the aspects of European security and defence policy with military and defence implications. I should particularly like to take this opportunity of thanking the Danish Presidency for the way in which it has cooperated on this novel experiment by the dual presidency, which is no easy task.
As far as relations with third countries are concerned, significant progress was also made in Seville, which adopted arrangements to broaden the provisions made in Nice on the involvement in European defence and security policy of potential partners, such as Canada, Russia and the Ukraine. As far as the European Union's taking over the Task Force Fox operation in the FYROM is concerned, serious preparations have also been made here. However, given that one of the
for taking over this operation is that permanent arrangements have to be in place between the European Union and ΝΑΤΟ, which there appears to be little likelihood of completing by the end of October, we may have to examine alternatives. Of course, this does not reflect all the progress made on the CFSP over the last year. A great deal of more or less important progress has been made, but there is too little time to describe it all.
Ladies and gentlemen, the European defence enterprise is helping to satisfy the demands of European citizens, which are being voiced even more loudly at the moment, for the European Union to take a strong lead on defence issues. The European Parliament, with its direct links to the citizens of Europe and with its sensitive approach to important issues in the European Union, will, we are sure, help with this new dimension currently being structured in the European Union. We are aware of the fact that, with the CFSP, we are opening up new prospects for the European Union and the cooperation established at the outset is very important. For our part, we shall do our very best during our presidency.
To close, I should like to thank the European Parliament and its president for giving me the opportunity to present the defence aspects of the policy for which Greece has assumed the presidency during the current six-month term.
May I start by saying that the Belgian and Spanish Presidencies were especially productive and gave a tremendous fillip to the European security and defence policy and it is befitting for us to acknowledge that from this forum.
There has been a whole series of developments which I should like to mention. The first, and perhaps most important, is the official announcement in Laeken last year that the European Union is now ready to carry out certain operations and is gradually moving towards full operational capability which will allow it to take on even the most demanding of Petersburg-type missions.
The second point I wanted to mention concerns the development of military capabilities, which are perhaps the most important factor in completing the Union's operational capabilities and which have also made considerable progress. A conference was held on improving capabilities, giving both the Member States and third countries the opportunity to make additional contributions, and the action plan on capabilities was adopted in Laeken.
The Spanish Presidency also pushed on with the application of the plan in question, and I should like to acknowledge that. May I point out that the announcement of partial operational readiness in Laeken is not simply of theoretical value. It says that we have the political will to implement the CFSP mechanism, even if it is still unfinished. What this means in practice is that we have given the go-ahead for specific operations to be undertaken in the Balkans, such as the policing mission in Bosnia and Task Force Fox in the FYROM. The Spanish Presidency also seriously addressed the related matter of equipment and took the relevant initiatives.
My fourth point concerns the European Union's first exercise, which was conducted during the Spanish Presidency and allowed the procedures planned to be tested and conclusions to be drawn which will be invaluable in improving these procedures in the future. And as part of this procedural operational framework for the defence and security policy mechanism, I should also mention that framework guidelines defining the funding system for military operations, which is again a very important aspect, were adopted in Seville.
A great deal has, of course, been done to set up the mechanism for developing capabilities which, in turn, is the basic tool of military administration. Much of the work has already been done and all that remains is to enhance certain points so that the mechanism can be put into action. However, there are a few outstanding questions, such as relations between the European Union and ΝΑΤΟ and the related issue of the involvement of European allies who are not part of the European Union.
As far as the first question is concerned, progress has not been exactly spectacular. Unquestionably, some progress has been made, mainly following discussions within ΝΑΤΟ of individual issues pertaining to relations between the two organisations. However, it is true to say, by way of a general conclusion, that relations between the two organisations need to progress further.
The reason given for this in certain quarters is the delay in dealing with the outstanding issue of participation. I should like to point out that this is not entirely accurate because, although resolving this issue would certainly make it easier to complete permanent arrangements, the fact that it is outstanding is no reason to delay on individual matters. Here too, progress has been made, as noted in the Seville conclusions, thanks to the efforts of the Spanish Presidency which, working with the General Secretariat and with the help of certain partners actively involved in the overall issue, brokered a compromise proposal before Seville. Unfortunately, this proposal has still not been developed. However, the Presidency and the General Secretariat are continuing in their endeavours, as instructed in Seville."@en1
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