Info

Chapter 4: The European Security and Defence Identity (ESDI) Evolution of the ESDI The process leading to the development of a European Security and Defence Identity within NATO has taken place progressively over a period of about ten years. By the early 1990s, it seemed to many in Europe and North America that the time had come for a rebalancing of the relationship between the two sides of the Atlantic and for concrete steps to be taken by the European member countries to assume greater responsibility for their common security and defence. European countries embarked upon a process designed to provide a genuine European military capability without unnecessary duplication of the command structures, planning staffs and military assets and capabilities already available within NATO, while simultaneously strengthening their contribution to the Alliance’s missions and activities. Such an approach was seen as responding both to the European wish to develop a Common Foreign and Security Policy, and to the need for a more balanced partnership between the North American and European member countries of the Alliance. Developing the European Security and Defence Identity within NATO is an integral part of the adaptation of NATO’s political and military structures. At the same time, it is an important element of the development of the European Union (EU). Both of these processes have been carried forward on the basis of the European Union’s Treaties of Maastricht in 1991 and Amsterdam in 1997, subsequent declarations made by the Western European Union and the European Union, and decisions taken by the Alliance at successive Summit meetings held in Brussels in 1994, Madrid in 1997 and Washington in 1999 and at regular ministerial meetings. With the Treaty on European Union, which was officially signed in Maastricht in February 1992 and entered into force on 1 November 1993, the leaders of the European Community agreed on the development of a Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) “including the eventual framing of a common defence policy which might in time lead to a common defence”. This agreement included reference to the Western European Union as an integral part of the development of the European Union created by the Treaty; and a request to the WEU to elaborate and implement decisions and actions of the European Union which had defence implications. At the meeting of the WEU which took place in Maastricht in December 1991 concurrently with the meeting of the European Council, WEU Member states issued a declaration agreeing on the need for a genuine European security and defence identity and a greater European responsibility in defence matters. In January 1994, NATO Heads of State and Government welcomed the entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty and the launching of the European Union as a means of strengthening the European pillar of the Alliance and allowing the European members of NATO to make a more coherent contribution to the security of all allies. They reaffirmed that the Alliance was the essential forum for consultation among its members and the venue for agreement on policies bearing on the security and defence commitments of Allies under the Washington Treaty. They also welcomed the close and growing cooperation between NATO and the Western European Union, achieved on the basis of agreed principles of complementarity and transparency. They further announced that they stood ready to make collective assets of the Alliance available, on the basis of consultations in the North Atlantic Council, for WEU operations undertaken by the European Allies in pursuit of their Common Foreign and Security Policy. NATO Heads of State and Government directed the North Atlantic Council to examine how the Alliance’s political and military structures might be developed and adapted in order to conduct the Alliance’s missions, including peacekeeping, more efficiently and flexibly; and to reflect the emerging European Security and Defence Identity. As part of this process, the concept of Combined Joint Task Forces (CJTFs) was developed. The CJTF concept, described in Chapter 12, is aimed at providing improved operational flexibility and permitting the more flexible and mobile deployment of forces needed to respond to the new demands of all Alliance missions. It was designed inter alia to provide separable but not separate deployable headquarters that could be employed by the Western European Union. At their meetings in Berlin and Brussels in June 1996, NATO Foreign and Defence Ministers decided that the European Security and Defence Identity should be built within NATO, as an essential part of the internal adaptation of the Alliance. This would enable all European Allies to make a more coherent and effective contribution to the missions and activities of the Alliance. It would allow them to act themselves as required and would simultaneously reinforce the transatlantic partnership. Taking full advantage of the Combined Joint Task Force concept, the strengthened European identity would be based on sound military principles supported by appropriate military planning, and would permit the creation of militarily coherent and effective forces capable of operating under the political control and strategic direction of the WEU. At the Summit Meeting in Madrid in July 1997, NATO Heads of State and Government welcomed the major steps taken with regard to the creation of the ESDI within the Alliance. The North Atlantic Council in Permanent Session was requested to complete its work in this sphere expeditiously, in cooperation with the WEU. By the time of the Summit meeting in Washington in April 1999, that work was essentially completed. During the course of the next year, significant further developments took place in this context. Most notable among these was the decision by EU and WEU governments that responsibility for the future development of a European security and defence policy and corresponding structures would be assumed by the EU itself. By the end of 2000, the roles and tasks previously assigned to the WEU had thus been transferred to the EU and arrangements made for handling residual WEU responsibilities in the framework of a much-reduced WEU structure and small secretariat. The Alliance commitment to reinforcing its European pillar is based on the development of an effective European Security and Defence Identity which could respond to European requirements and at the same time contribute to Alliance security. By assuming greater responsibility for their own security, the European member countries seek to create a stronger and more balanced transatlantic relationship, thus strengthening the Alliance as a whole. Accordingly, at their meeting in Washington in April 1999, Heads of State and Government had set in train work on the further development of the European Security and Defence Identity within the Alliance. Discussions were initiated to address a number of specific aspects, namely: means of ensuring the development of effective mutual consultation, cooperation and transparency between the European Union (EU) and the Alliance, based on the mechanisms that had been established between NATO and the Western European Union (WEU); the participation of non-EU European Allies; practical arrangements for EU access to NATO planning capabilities and NATO’s assets and capabilities. The improvement of European military capabilities is a fundamental aspect of ESDI. A Defence Capabilities Initiative (DCI), was therefore launched in Washington to ensure the effectiveness of future multinational operations across the full range of NATO missions. The principles which have formed the basis for future work on ESDI, set out at the Washington Summit and at subsequent meetings, are as follows: The Alliance acknowledges the resolve of the European Union to have the capacity for autonomous action so that it can take decisions and approve military action where the Alliance as a whole is not engaged. In taking this process forward, NATO and the EU must ensure the development of effective mutual consultation, cooperation and transparency, building on the mechanisms developed for cooperation between NATO and the WEU. Alliance leaders applaud the determination of both EU members and other European Allies to take the necessary steps to strengthen their defence capabilities, especially for new missions, avoiding unnecessary duplication. They attach the utmost importance to ensuring the fullest possible involvement of non-EU European Allies in EU-led crisis response operations, building on consultation arrangements developed within the WEU. Canada’s interest in participating in such operations under appropriate modalities is also recognised. They are determined that the decisions taken in Berlin in 1996, including the concept of using separable but not separate NATO assets and capabilities for EU-led operations, should be further developed. Based on these principles, these arrangements (referred to as "Berlin plus"), which will respect the requirements of NATO operations and the coherence of its command structure, include issues such as: the provision of assured EU access to NATO planning capabilities able to contribute to military planning for EU-led operations; the presumption of availability to the EU of pre-identified NATO capabilities and common assets for use in EU-led operations; the identification of a range of European command options for EU-led operations and further developing the role of the Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, in order for him to assume fully and effectively his European responsibilities; the further adaptation of NATO’s defence planning system to incorporate more comprehensively the availability of forces for EU-led operations.