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Summary of Interventions by Javier Solana,
    EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy    |
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(Source : European Union ; issued Nov. 19, 2001)
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 CAPABILITIES IMPROVEMENT CONFERENCE
Ministers Of Defence Meeting - General Affairs Council
Brussels, 19 November 2001
Today's Capabilities Improvement Conference constitutes an extremely important step in the development of the EU Defence and Security Policy.
I welcome the preparatory work made by the Belgian Presidency and the Member States.
MILITARY CAPABILITIES
**Work done has yielded a better analysis of our needs, an updating of national contributions and a better understanding of efforts.
**Encouraging result: significant qualitative and quantitative improvement, a good number of shortfalls fulfilled.
**Assessment of the revised national contributions, done under the direction of the Military Committee, states that the EU will be able to carry out the whole range of Petersberg tasks by 2003, albeit with possible restrictions in terms of scale and deployment time and perhaps a higher level of risk.
**Shows that more effort is needed to be able to carry out the most complex operations as efficiently as possible and to reduce any limitations. Have to ask whether some of those among you, having now seen the overall analysis, can make increased offers.
**I welcome the development of a European Capability Action Plan, based on voluntary contribution, bottom up approach. Needs to be supplemented by rapid agreement on a Capability Development Mechanism.
**Overall aim is further improvements in military capacities, including by rationalising defence efforts and increasing synergy between national and multinational projects.
**In this respect, I also would like to welcome the next Presidency’s intention to cover the question of high readiness forces. Having a credible operational capability will also be dependent on being able to react rapidly to surprise changes in the crisis environment.
**All of this takes us in a good direction. Consistent with what I have seen in the last two years since I became High Representative. The EU has been taking its international responsibilities seriously and making a major effort to play a greater international role. Across the whole of CFSP, we are already seeing concrete tangible results.
**The Declaration of the Capabilities Improvement Conference strikes a suitable balance between work done and work remaining. But we should not be shy about acknowledging publicly the work that remains and that it will require a sustained commitment of resources: important sign of seriousness and credibility. Believe publics will understand, especially this in the current climate.
OPERATIONALITY
**Also important as we approach Laeken that we reflect on the building blocks for operationality.
**In the current international context, I fully support a declaration of progressive operationality in a manner where there is a strong link between capability improvement and the level of operational readiness, in accordance to the Nice Summit Conclusions.
**Need to establish relations with other actors in crisis management, essentially international organisations such as UN, OSCE and of course NATO.
STRUCTURES/INTELLIGENCE
(Editor's note : this section, in French in the original document, was translated by defense-aerospace.com)
** Necessary structures have been put in place on the military side and at the Council's Secretariat. We must now ensure that these structures perfectly meet our expectations. An appropriate exercise program must be implemented.
**We must also strengthen the Secretariat's ability to produce high-quality situation reports that will be useful to the Council and to member States.
**This implies that member nations supply more confidential information, and that appropriate structures and methods be set up within the Secretariat to process such sensitive information, and particularly to protect them.
**The goal is to better serve you, and to produce high-quality situation reports and reports that will be placed at the disposal of Council agencies and of member States.
EU/NATO RELATIONS
**Important that we keep moving forward on the relationship with NATO. Lack of agreement on Berlin plus disappointing, but much can still be done to strengthen the basis for operational co-operation.
**Other areas that we can pursue include exercises and to wrap up an EU/NATO security agreement, as well as pursuing a dialogue with NATO on the practical modalities for EU access to NATO assets.
-ends-
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