The EU security strategy
The European Security Strategy - response to international security threats
The Federal Government advocated the formulation of a European security strategy from an early stage. The Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs was heavily involved in the initiative to develop an overall strategy in the field of foreign and security policy, an initiative conceived at the informal Foreign Ministers Meeting in Kastellorizo from 2 to 4 May 2003. The European Council’s mandate to the Secretary-General/High Representative on 19 and 20 June 2003 in Thessaloniki to bring this work forward was successfully heeded within a very short time – with considerable input from the Federal Government.
The European Security Strategy (ESS) adopted by the European Council in Brussels on 12 December 2003 represents a quantum leap for the European Union in terms of foreign and security policy. With the ESS the EU is embracing the strategic consequences of the dual paradigm shift which has shaped the Union’s security situation since 9 November 1989 and 11 September 2001. The ESS is a milestone on the way to strategically defining the role and the tasks of the EU in a radically changed security environment and in the face of globalization. Following the difficulties caused by the Iraq conflict, it conveys a central message both within and outside Europe - the EU intends to speak with one voice when tackling the challenges and threats of our time. The ESS thus plays an inestimable role in ensuring the coherency of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP).
Outline of the European Security Strategy
The ESS reflects the increased weight of the enlarged as a player with global responsibility and shows awareness of its significance. It also indicates how the EU can make its political, economic and military influence, and that of its member states, more active, more coherent and more effective. In its three chapters it accurately shows how the EU’s cross-pillar conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation resources correspond to the global challenges and risks, centring on a comprehensive security concept. The strategy sharpens the focus, sets priorities and achieves the right balance.
In the first chapter the ESS identifies terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, regional conflicts, state failure and organized crime as the five key threats facing today. The ESS lists poverty, hunger, pandemics such as AIDS and the competition for natural resources as global challenges.
To defend the security of its citizens and promote the EU’s common values, the ESS then defines three strategic objectives in the second chapter.
- First, given the new threats, which are never of a purely military nature and can therefore never be tackled with purely military means, the EU must take preventive action at an early stage using all the instruments at its disposal. According to the ESS the first line of defence will often be abroad.
- Second, despite the EU’s significance as a global player, the ESS focuses on establishing security in our direct neighbourhood with the aim of creating a ring of well-governed countries extending from the EU’s eastern border to the Mediterranean region.
- Third, the EU is committed to a global order based on effective multilateralism and founded on international law. This reflects Europeans’ conviction that no single country has the strength to tackle the new global challenges on its own.
In the third chapter the ESS discusses the implications for European policy. It appeals for more active foreign policy implementation and targeted use of the broad spectrum of diplomatic, trade and development instruments, including military action as a last resort in conflict prevention and crisis management. Civilian and military capabilities must be enhanced and used more effectively. These tools must also be better pooled and coordinated. Cooperation between the EU and its partners which goes beyond the irreplaceable transatlantic relationship must also be strengthened.
A range of important German concerns have found their way into the document. The ESS clearly emphasizes the EU’s full range of preventive instruments, which is highlighted several times. The declared commitment to the United Nations (UN) Charter acknowledges that military force can only be used as a last resort and on the basis of the UN Charter (Chapter VII, including Article 51). The UN Security Council bears the chief responsibility for peace and security. The strategy also underlines the significance of arms control for security in and outside Europe. It emphasizes the importance of the strategic partnership between the EU and NATO. The Federal Government was involved in shaping the ESS and warmly welcomes it. The ESS remains true to the identity and the values of the EU as a force of law. At the same time it highlights the fact that the EU is a civilian force to be reckoned with, prepared to act when rules are broken.
For the Federal Government another specific advantage of the ESS is its clear and readable language, which addresses the Union’s citizens directly. According to a Eurobarometer survey in October 2003, 76% of the German people are in favour of a common security and defence policy. Security policy is therefore the area in which our citizens have both great hopes and expectations of the EU. The ESS marks the first attempt to formulate strategic guidelines which are accessible to the wider public and intended to be incorporated into all relevant political measures at European level.
Implementation of the ESS since December 2003
The first concrete step towards implementation was taken by the European Council on 12/13 December 2003 in Brussels when it adopted the EU strategy against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. This is a crucial component of the ESS. In December 2003 the European Council also appealed to the Irish Presidency and the Secretary-General in Brussels to unveil specific proposals on implementing the ESS. Initially, steps towards implementation are being taken in four areas:
Contribution to an effective multilateralism with the United Nations and the EU
The EU has made an in-depth contribution, coordinated with the member states, to the work of the High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change established by the UN Secretary-General in November 2003. The High-Level Panel’s report, published in early December 2004 and entitled “A more secure world – our shared responsibility”, includes many of the proposals from the EU paper, particularly in its statements on international law and the proposal to establish a Peacebuilding Commission in the UN Security Council. On the basis of the EU-UN Joint Declaration on cooperation in crisis management of 24 September 2003 work is also under way to provide even more effective support for the UN in the area of crisis management, e.g. through the use of civilian and military elements of the ESDP as well as through joint training measures.
Fight against terrorism
Shortly after the attacks of 11 September 2001 the EU adopted a comprehensive plan of action incorporating more than 70 individual measures. The declaration on combating terrorism adopted by the European Council in Brussels on 25 March 2004 with its seven strategic objectives forms the basis of the common approach to fighting terrorism along with the revised plan of action. The declaration contains clear tasks for the Council, the Commission, EUROPOL, Eurojust, the Police Chiefs Task Force, the Secretary-General/High Representative and the member states. A crucial element is the creation of an EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, the creation of an intelligence capacity in the EU Situation Centre and the early entry into force of the solidarity clause from the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe in the event of a terrorist attack on an EU member state.
The European Councils of June and December 2004 have continued to drive forward implementation of the tasks identified in the Declaration of 25 March 2004 and set new priorities. A strategy paper on preventing the financing of terrorism, a paper on the consideration of counter-terrorism issues in the EU’s external relations and a progress report on establishing the intelligence capacity in the EU Situation Centre were submitted to the European Council in December 2004. An EU strategy on the causes of radicalization and terrorist recruitment was to be drafted before the next European Council in June 2005. The Hague Programme, adopted by the European Council in Brussels on 5 November 2004, contains far-reaching measures to combat terrorism and for the area of judicial and police cooperation.
Strategy towards the Middle East
The June 2004 European Council adopted the report on the strategic partnership between the EU and the Mediterranean region and the Middle East. Germany and France were heavily involved in drafting this paper. The goal is to foster cooperation between the EU and the countries in the region in a spirit of partnership to promote peace, prosperity and progress in the region, building on tried and tested tools such as the Barcelona Process. Support of reforms implemented by the nations in the region, including those in the context of the Broader Middle East and North Africa initiative launched at the G8 Sea Island Summit, should be accompanied by efforts to find a lasting solution to the Middle East conflict. Relations with members of the Gulf Cooperation Council and other states in the Middle East should be strengthened.
Europe has close ties to the Middle East and the other Mediterranean neighbours due to its history and geography. We have a keen interest in reform, political stability and economic development in these countries. The European Union is prepared to support ideas and reform proposals from the region through partnership and to boost the quality of the existing cooperation. To this end the European Union is already in close contact with its Arab partners.
Comprehensive policy towards Bosnia and Herzegovina
The goal is to achieve the greatest possible coherency and effectiveness among all EU players in Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 2 December 2004 the EU launched the EUFOR/Althea operation to succeed the NATO SFOR operation. The EU’s assumption of this responsibility has significantly strengthened its current involvement in Bosnia and Herzegovina (EU Special Representative, EU Police Mission, EU Monitoring Mission, EU Stabilization and Association Process). A paper containing concrete proposals for the Bosnia policy was adopted under the Irish Presidency and endorsed by the European Council in June 2004. The proposals include strengthening the role of the EU Special Representative, Paddy Ashdown.
Last updated 30.01.2006