US embassy cable - 03ROME4564

C O N F I D E N T I A L  ROME 004564 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
STATE FOR P, EUR DAS BRADTKE, EUR/RPM, EUR/ERA; OSD FOR 
FEITH, CROUCH, BREZINSKI 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/15/2013 
TAGS: MARR, MOPS, PREL, EUN, NATO 
SUBJECT: EU INFORMAL DEFENSE MINISTERS MEETING IN ROME 
 
REF: A. ROME 4482 
     B. ROME 4440 (NOTAL) 
 
Classified By: POLITICAL MINISTER COUNSELOR THOMAS COUNTRYMAN FOR REASO 
NS 1.5(B)(D) 
 
1. (U) SUMMARY.  EU Defense Ministers discussed five main 
issues during their Oct. 3-4 informal meeting in Rome, the 
first meeting of EU DefMins at 25.  They proposed creating a 
working group to consider an EU role in Bosnia/SFOR, 
including replacing SFOR with an EU operation under UK 
command by mid-2004.  They pursued the concept of using the 
five existing national military headquarters in UK, France, 
Germany, Italy and Greece as virtual planning cells for EU 
military operations, rather than creating a new separate 
headquarters.  They agreed to establish a "European Defense 
Agency" by December 2003 to improve European coordination on 
armaments development and procurement, and supported a French 
proposal to create a European "gendarmerie".  The ministers 
deferred discussion on capabilities until December in order 
to see how defense issues will be treated within the European 
Security Strategy and the Constitutional Treaty.  Italian 
DefMin Martino, who hosted the meeting, also met with defense 
ministers from Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Iceland and Norway 
at a lunch on October 4.  END SUMMARY. 
 
BOSNIA/SFOR 
----------- 
2. (U)  European Defense Ministers meeting informally in Rome 
proposed creating a working group to consider four options 
for an EU role in Bosnia: an EU police mission, an EU 
military operation that would be "softer" than SFOR, no 
action, or an EU operation to replace NATO SFOR by mid-2004. 
During a press conference after the meeting, Italian Defense 
Minister Antonio Martino said they would know more about the 
possibility of replacing SFOR following this week's NATO 
DefMin meeting in Colorado Springs.  He said the ministers 
had not discussed details but had agreed that such an EU 
Berlin-Plus mission could and should be started by mid-2004. 
It would be under UK command and would include contributions 
from new EU members.  The number of troops should be low, 
according to Martino, because the situation in Bosnia has 
improved. (An EU spokesman earlier had mentioned an EU force 
of approximately 6,000, depending on the conditions at the 
time the mission is launched.)  The French delegation 
proposed beginning informal planning now in order for the EU 
to take over SFOR's mission by mid-2004.  In response to a 
question, Martino said the US should favor a reduction in US 
forces in the Balkans because of the demands of ongoing 
operations elsewhere. 
 
3. (C) In an October 6 meeting with Pol-Mil Counselor, 
Martino's Diplomatic Advisor Francesco Trupiano said an EU 
successor to SFOR would be the first real application of 
Berlin-Plus.  He said Lord Robertson had made it clear that 
the EU would have to "do this right," with full coordination 
with NATO and the US.  The DefMins had agreed that an EU 
operation would need a new mandate to avoid creating the 
impression that NATO had not completed its mission, Trupiano 
reported.  The EU did not have in mind a police mission, he 
added, but rather a new, military command to succeed SFOR. 
 
EU MILITARY PLANNING 
-------------------- 
4. (U)  Four countries (UK, Germany, Sweden and Netherlands) 
vocally supported keeping the SHAPE planning cell for Berlin 
Plus operations, "revising" the tasks of the EU Military 
Staff, and using the five national headquarters (France, 
Germany, UK, Italy and Greece) for autonomous EU operations, 
along the lines of the Italian non-paper proposing a 
"virtual" planning cell (see reftels).  The EU spokesman 
said, "No one said no" to this concept; France said nothing. 
He added that the UK had insisted that the EU Military Staff 
tasks not be expanded to include operational-type planning. 
Martino later admitted that there had been some disagreement 
on this issue but added that the ministers all agreed the EU 
needs its own military planning capability.  He said many 
proposals are on the table, including the Italian proposal 
and the Tervuren headquarters. There was not a large 
consensus among the ministers on the Tervuren concept, he 
added, but it would nonetheless be considered along with all 
the others.  Martino expected agreement would be reached on a 
proposal or combination of proposals by the November meeting 
of EU foreign and defense ministers. 
 
5. (C) Trupiano told Pol-Mil Counselor that the Italian 
"virtual" headquarters non-paper was not on the agenda but 
was raised by UK DefMin Hoon, who supported the concept. 
Trupiano sid this indicated that the UK has accepted 
strucured cooperation so long as all 25 EU members agre in 
advance on the mechanism and could then opt n or out. 
(Trupiano said this was analogous to the creation -- by all 
EU member states -- of the Ero mechanisms, with each then 
free to participat or not.)  France and Germany had pushed 
structued cooperation hard during the meeting, he noted. 
France had also pressed to expand the operational capacity of 
the EU Military Staff, but the UK had remained adamant that 
only the Staff's strategic capacity should be reinforced. 
The Tervuren proposal is not formally off the table, Trupiano 
said, but it is clear following the ministers' meeting that a 
new headquarters for EU planning is not going to be created. 
 
EUROPEAN DEFENSE AGENCY 
----------------------- 
6. (U) The Defense Ministers agreed to establish an agency 
before December 203 to coordinate research, development and 
procurement of armaments, according to the EU spokesman. 
Italy proposed calling it the "European Defense Agency," he 
said.  The European Council is expected to make final 
decisions on the name and other details in December. At his 
press conference, Martino stressed that European coordination 
on defense contributions was necessary in order to avoid 
wasteful duplications.  The purpose of the "European Defense 
Agency" would be just that, he said: coordination of EU 
military effort and forces.  EU defense ministers will be 
members of the agency, he said.  This will provide them with 
a forum to discuss common defense-related problems, he 
explained, since the current constitutional convention draft 
provides no role for defense ministers. 
 
EUROPEAN "GENDARMERIE" 
---------------------- 
7. U)  A French proposal, supported by the Italian 
residency, to create a European "gendarmerie" was well 
received by other EU members, the EU spokesman reported. 
Based on the Italian Carabinieri and French Gendarmerie, the 
force would have military, police and civil training to serve 
as a stabilization presence in a conflict zone after military 
troops depart and while reconstruction takes hold.  Martino 
later noted that how the proposal is implemented (in terms of 
defense spending and troop contributions) will be important 
to its success.  He said it is likely to be on the agenda for 
the November meeting of EU foreign and defense ministers. 
 
8. (C) Trupiano explained to Pol-Mil Counselor that the 
proposed force would supplement EU military and civilian 
capabilities.  It could be used after military operations, 
during the transition to a civilian operation, or it could be 
used to defuse a crisis before it erupts, he explained.  The 
force will have skills different from those of police, and 
might do training of forces as well.  The French raised the 
proposal at the meeting, Trupiano said, but there was tacit 
understanding that Italy will have the lead on implementing 
the concept because of the Carabinieri's extensive experience 
with Multinational Specialized Units. 
 
CAPABILITIES 
------------ 
9. (U)  The Defense Ministers decided to defer discussion of 
EU military capabilities until they see how defense issues 
are addressed in the European Security Strategy and the 
Constitutional Treaty, the EU spokesman said.  They expect to 
discuss capabilities more fully in December, when these two 
documents will be more mature, he added.  At his press 
conference after the meeting, Martino noted that 2010 is the 
dealine for interoperability of EU forces.  He said the 
ministers discussed an Italian "food-for-thought" paper that 
sets forth a "path" for achieving European capabilities goals 
by 2010 (see reftel A), and would follow closely discussion 
of defense issues at the Intergovernmental Conference and 
within the framework of the European Security Strategy. 
Martino noted that member states have only one force 
available to use for missions, whether under an EU or NATO 
umbrella, which makes it essential to avoid duplication as 
much as possible.  He pointed out the disparity not only 
between the amount of defense spending in the USG and EU 
states but also the capabilities that spending buys. 
 
MEDITERRANEAN SECURITY 
---------------------- 
 
10. (U) Martino noted that the Mediterranean dimension of the 
EU's defense policy is becoming increasingly important.  The 
threat of global terrorism makes improving relations with the 
EU's Mediterranean neighbors essential.  Spain proposed 
including Med countries in joint operations whenever 
appropriate in order to build better mil-mil relations, 
according to Martino.  Such contacts might also strengthen 
efforts to stem illegal immigration into the EU, he said, in 
response to a question from the press. 
 
11. (U) The ministers did not discuss contributions to Iraq 
or Afghanistan because the informal DefMin meeting was not 
the appropriate forum, Martino said.  He also noted that 
there was no separate session on terrorism because it was 
discussed within the framework of other agenda items. 
 
SEMBLER 
 
 
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	2003ROME04564 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL