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European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP)
European Union takes step towards common security
and defence policy
3 June 1999
Hidden by the news of Serb acceptance of the EU/Russian brokered
peace deal, heads of State and Government of the European
Union (EU) adopted a proposal for the creation of a common
European policy on security and defence. The EU leaders are
meeting at the Summit in Cologne, Germany, at the end of the
German Presidency of the EU.
The new policy will initially be aimed at giving the EU the
".. ability to take decisions on the full range of conflict
prevention and crisis management tasks defined in the Treaty
on European Union..". The report the leaders adopted stressed
that the EU will build a capacity to act independently, either
with or without the use of American resources through NATO.
The proposal allows for meetings of EU defence ministers,
a political body to be set up to run the policy, as well as
a military committee to provide advice to political leaders.
In addition an EU military staff and command structure will
be established. Further the EU will take resources such as
the Situation Centre and the Satellite Centre from the Western
European Union, the bosy through which the Eu has coordinated
its defence policy until now.
Preparations will begin immediately to put this policy into
place, with the aim of having everything up and running by
the end of the year 2000. Following the Franco-British Declaration
of December 1998 on EU defence, these policies have been put
on a fast-track to operationalisation. This process was given
added impetus by perceived European impotence in Kosovo, where
the US has taken the lead.
In addition, the EU agreed to appoint Javier Solana, current
Secretary general of NATO, as its High Representative for
Foreign and Security Policy. Mr Solana will take up the foreign
policy post when his stint at NATO finishes in December 1999.
Mr Solana is seen as a strong choice.
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