November 26, 2007 (the date of publication in Russian)
Grigory Tinsky
TOWARDS A EUROPEAN ARMY
Is the EU going to acquire its own military force?
THE EUROPEAN CONCEPT OF DEFENSE
The actual European concept of defense, Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), was particularized in the Maastricht Treaty of 1992 and subsequently developed in the Amsterdam Treatise of 1997. The concept was approved after a lengthy debate. The European Community repeatedly rejected the plans of common defense policy. Only in November 1993, the Maastricht Treaty came into force, its Paragraph 11 outlining the following objectives of CFSP:
1. Protection of common values, interests, EU's independence and integrity;
2. Guaranteeing European security by any available means;
3. Pursuit of peace and international security;
4. Promotion of international cooperation;
5. Development and invigoration of democracy and rule of law, respect for human rights and basic liberties.
The list of major challenges to the modern world system is formulated in the European Security Strategy in the following sequence:
- terrorism;
- proliferation of WMD;
- regional conflicts;
- poor governance causing corruption, malfeasance, and weakness of state institutions;
- organized crime.
The European concept of international security is based on the assumption that the European Union, which encompasses a population of 500 million, produces one quarter of the world's GDP and disposes a military budget of 160 billion euros, is obliged to be a global player in security issues, as security is an indispensable pillar for the EU's successful development.
According to the concept, the major role in guaranteeing international security belongs to international institutions, regimes, and treaties. "Our security and prosperity increasingly depend on existence of an efficient system, operating on a multilateral base. Our duty is to implement and develop international law, its system based on the UN Charter".
Qualifying the European concept of strategic security in the definitions of the realistic liberal approach, we inevitably conclude that beyond intimate trans-Atlantic relationship in the NATO framework and the obviously leading role of the United States in this process, the European Union is progressively developing an independent vision of fundamental issues of international security. This tendency is manifested by the latest French initiatives of establishing European-level defense institutions.
In the process of development of European-level defense institution, France and Britain are to play the decisive role, as these two nations provide two thirds of the unified Europe's military budget. The recent speech of UK's Foreign Secretary David Miliband, delivered on November 15 at the College of Europe in Bruges, is exemplary. The Foreign Secretary emphasized the significance of improvement of EU's defense capabilities: "It's frankly embarrassing that when European nations – with almost two million men and women under arms – are only able, at a stretch, to deploy around 100,000 at any one time," he said. "European countries have around 1,200 transport helicopters, yet only 35 are deployed in Afghanistan. And EU member states haven't provided any helicopters in Darfur despite the desperate need there" (see full text on www.euobserver.com).
Miliband's speech echoed the new military initiatives of French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The two leaders seem ready to elaborate common decisions.
The 1999-approved blueprint entitled European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) substantiates the direct responsibility of the European defense potential for maintenance of peace in Europe. The term of "common European policy in security and defense" was coined at the EU summit in Köln on June 3-4, 1999. The next event in Helsinki in the same year stipulated that EU activities in the relevant sphere should involve not only diplomatic efforts and humanitarian assistance but also economic aid, as well as provision of instruments enabling the EU to carry out anti-crisis management. It was the Helsinki summit of December 10-11, 1999, which established both political and strategic institutions of the EU tasked for management of anti-crisis operations and newly-formed rapid reaction forces.
The institutional responsibility for ESDP's implementation is laid upon the EU Policy and Security Committee, the Military Committee, and the Military Staff. The EU legislation considers that a military mission should be approved by interested states, with the exception for a situation in which a particular nation in plunged into chaos and does not have an efficient government. In case a mission requires a military operation, it could be implemented on condition of approval from the UN Security Council.
Analysis of the mentioned principles reveals that the European security concept does not suppose unilateral use of military force, contrary to the US neoconservative approach.
The experience of practical implementation of these theoretical principles could be reviewed on particular examples.
WESTERN BALKANS
EU's observing mission in former Yugoslavia was established in 2000, its major goal being "collection of information and provision of analytical data essential for development of EU policy in the region". The mission carries out monitoring of the borders, ethnic policies, and the problem of refugees. The mission involves 25 EU members plus Norway. Originally, the contingent included 300 officials; at present, the mission involves 120 EU citizens and 75 local officials. The headquarters of the mission is based in Sarajevo. The head of the mission since 2003 is Maurice Dauvier (France).
MACEDONIA
The military mission in Macedonia, undertaken on the request from President Boris Trajkovski, was launched on March 2003 under the code name of Concordia. This effort, qualified as continuation of NATO's Allied Harmony operation, was substantiated with the necessity to overcome the post-war crisis when Macedonia found itself on the brink of an ethnic conflict. The mission's task was to prevent a military clash between the Slavonic majority and the Albanian minority, and to guarantee integrity of a multiethnic Macedonia.
The military mission with a budget of 4.7 million euros involved 4500 officials from 13 nations under command of Admiral Rainer Feist (Germany). Being considered as successful, the military mission was replaced by a police mission, launched in December 2003 in accordance with the Berlin-Plus Agreement, signed by the EU and NATO. The agreement enabled the EU to use NATO's strategic planning and intelligence data for implementation of peacekeeping operations.
The tasks of the police mission were: to establish, educate and consult local police bodies, to combat organized crime, to protect borders and support political and public reforms, including promotion of Macedonia's entry in the EU.
The mission, supplied with a budget of 16 million euros, has headquarters in Skopje and is headed by Brigadier General Jurgen Scholz (Germany). It involved 200 police servicemen from EU member states as well as Turkey, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, Canada, and the United States, as well as Russia and Ukraine. The mission was completed by December 14, 2005, and recognized as successful. Its result was political integration of Macedonia, enabling the country to be accepted into the EU.
The police mission conveyed its responsibilities to a team of police experts, including 30 top-level officials, supervising consulting and education work, and coordinated by the same Jurgen Scholz. This effort, provided with a budget of 1.5 million euros, was completed by June 15, 2006.
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
EUFOR's military operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Concordia, was launched as the continuation of NATO's operation in the region. Started in December 2004, it officially pursued the goal of guaranteeing stability in the region. The mission was implemented on the legal base of U Security Council's Resolution 1551, the Dayton Agreements and the subsequent Thessaloniki Declaration, entitled "Moving towards European Integration for the Western Balkan States". The mission, carried out under the command of Admiral Hans-Jochen Witthauer, was headquartered in Sarajevo, it budget reaching 72 million euros. At the onset of the effort, the mission involved 7,000 military servicemen from 24 EU states, as well as from Albania, Argentina, Canada, Chile, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, and Turkey. In 2007, the contingent was reduced by 2,500 servicemen. The effort is considered as successful: it has improved control of borders, facilitated state management, and contributed in postwar reconstruction of economy.
Since January 2003, the EU has been carrying out a police mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was the first "peace implementation"-type police operation in the ESDP framework. The major purpose of the effort was to prepare replacement of the UN International Police Task Force, monitoring of Bosnia and Herzegovina's territory and control of implementation of programs pursuing improvement of governance, including reshapement of local police authorities according to EU standards, as well as combating organized crime and border control.
The mission, headquartered in Sarajevo, is headed by General Vincenzo Coppola. The mission, provided with a budget of 35 million euros, involved 500 police servicemen from 39 states in the period of 2003-2005. On January 1, 2006, the EU decided to reinforce the mission by 200 officials. The police force is divided into 24 squads, operation across the whole territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Beside EU states, the mission involves Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Canada, Turkey and Ukraine.
KOSOVO
In Kosovo, two missions of the European Union were functioning in 2006-2007. The first one was supposed to organize cooperation of the autonomy with the EU and the United Nations, to provide technical assistance to local authorities, to contribute in establishing order and guaranteeing human rights and liberties of the population, and also to facilitate international discussion of the autonomy's future status. The mission, supplied with a fund of over 3 million euros, involved 1000 police servicemen from 12 EU member states, being headquartered in Pristina. The mission is going to continue its work also after the definition of Kosovo's status.
The second mission was represented by a group of the International Civic Mission of EU's Special Representative in Kosovo. The group, headed by Thorbjorn Salstrom, acquired a budget of 869,000 euros. Its work was focused on training of local police and creating conditions for rule of law. This mission's mandate expired on March 31, 2007.
GEORGIA
The EU mission in Georgia, dubbed Rule of Law, was the first mission on the territory of the former USSR. The relevant decision was made by the EU Council on June 27, 2004, supposing to demonstrate EU support of the "revolution of roses". The mission, launched on July 16, 2004, was focused on settlement of regional conflicts, overcoming political instability, combating organized crime, and consolidation of statehood. Besides, the EU sought to assist Georgia in implementation of Western standards in the judicial system, of a reform of criminal legislation with a special emphasis on human rights.
European experts closely cooperated with Georgia's ministries of Justice and Interior, the General Prosecutor's Office, the Ombudsman's Office, and the Supreme Court. The effort involved only ten European experts though absorbed 2.3 million euros.
The EU Council qualified the efficiency of the mission in Georgia, which was completed on July 15, 2005, with no optimism. The experts acknowledged disinterest of Georgian officials to the reforms, as well as lack of political cooperativeness from the President's Office. The current situation in Georgia proves that the "Euro-style renovation" of Georgia's legal system was a failure.
MOLDOVA AND UKRAINE
The EUBAM mission was launched officially on June 2, 2005. However, the 193 police servicemen from 16 EU states (along with 3 officers from CIS states and 92 local officials) actually started their work only on December 1, 2005. The two-year mission, headquartered in Odessa (the site of Ukraine's major port), was headed by Brigadier General Ferenc Bánfi (Hungary). The mission's official goals included prevention of smuggle and customs swindle at the border of Moldova and Ukraine. In practice, the mission, provided with a lucrative budget of 20.2 million euros, was busy organizing an economic siege of the unrecognized Republic of Transdniester. Though this effort failed after the government reshuffle in Ukraine in June 2006, the mission was prolonged. Its result, according to EU reports, is seen in "increase of transparency of Transdniester region’s exports and imports".
WHAT SHOULD BE DISCUSSED WITH THE EU
The theoretical and practical aspects of the European concept of international security suggest the following conclusions:
1. The European approach towards guaranteeing international security is different from the approach of the incumbent US Administration. It does not recognize unilateral use of military force, being based on a system of international treaties and regulations involving international institutions. The European Union indisputably recognizes the leading role of the United Nations in global policy and pursues a multilateral approach towards global policy, including international security.
2. Despite this dominating tendency, European political leaders lack accord both in theory and practice of international relations. For instance, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner sincerely shares the neoconservative approach towards international security, including the provision of possible "humanitarian" (also armed) intervention into a particular non-European country under the pretext of the character of political regime. In this year, Mr. Kouchner shocked the world community with a forecast of an imminent military conflict with Iran.
The counterbalance to the doctrine of "humanitarian intervention" emerges from the principle of unanimity in decision-making on the level of the EU Council.
3. The EU missions on the territory of the former USSR are based on the assumption of "incompleteness" of the geopolitical process on this territory. This approach suggests certain hopes for the presently unrecognized republics of Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Transdniester, and Karabakh. At the same time, this principle may be used for instrumentalizing Russia's disintegration. Therefore, secessionist sentiments in today's Russia should not be overlooked though their today's intensity is low.
In the EU-Russia dialogue, it is essential to convince European partners that decisions on EU missions on the former USSR's territory should not be made without Russia's involvement (as it was, in particular, in the case of EUBAM). The mechanism of Russia's involvement, particularly its financial side, is unlikely to arouse objections from the EU Council and the EU Commission.
4. The European Rapid Reaction Force should be viewed as a factor of stabilization of international relations. Though the EU positions itself as a strategic ally of the United States, emergence of a military force with a new legitimacy, based upon a European set of values and a multilateral approach to decision-making, suggests consolidation of a new regional subject of global influence and thereby a significant advance towards a multipolar world system.
5. The inevitable increase of EU's role on the global political scene with the emergence of the "EuroArmy" could help Russia to reassess the format of partnership and cooperation with Europe. The new Russia-EU Treaty on Strategic Partnership should include provisions on military cooperation pursuing coordination of defense and peacekeeping initiatives of Russia and the European Union for the benefit of global security.
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