FOU, Alm.del - 2013-14 - Bilag 71: Pressemeddelelse fra EU forsvarsministre om den fælles sikkerheds- og forsvarspolitik og EU operationer

PRESS RELEASEEU Defence ministers supportthe way forward for CSDP and EU operationsThe informal meeting of EU Defence Ministers took place on 20and 21 February in Athens, chaired byGreek Minister of National Defence Dimitris Avramopoulos on behalf of EU High RepresentativeCatherine Ashton. It consisted of 3 working sessions dedicated respectively to the follow up to theEuropean Council on security and defence, ongoing EU operations, and the situation in the CentralAfrican Republic.The NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and the UN Undersecretary General forPeacekeeping Hervé Ladsous attended parts of the meeting.At the end of the meeting Minister Avramapoulos stated: ‘Our meeting has confirmed the dynamicCSDP agenda. There is a lot of work ahead on the follow-up to the December European Council. Andas we prepare to deploy in the Central African Republic, the EU will soon be conducting 5 militaryoperations, a clear confirmation of the growing role of the Union as a security provider’.The conclusions of last December's European Council were discussed during the first session. Theseconclusions will shape the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) agenda until June 2015,when leaders will again discuss security and defence. Ministers shared a positive assessment of theoutcome of the European Council and called for maintaining momentum through concrete actionsand tangible progress. Ministers addressed in particular the work towards a Maritime SecurityStrategy, rapid response, the support to capacity building of local and regional partners, and thedevelopment of a policy framework for more systematic and longer term defence cooperation withinthe EU.

The discussions on Friday were dedicated to EU military operations, which remain at the heart ofCSDP. Ministers first addressed the state-of-play and perspectives for the four ongoing EU militaryoperations – EU NAVFOR Atalanta,EUFOR Althea, EUTM Somalia, and EUTM Mali – followingbriefings by the respective Operation Commanders. Ministers welcomed the tangible resultsachieved by these operations.A separate session was devoted to the Central African Republic. The EU is actively involved in effortsundertaken by the international community to address the political, humanitarian, security andhuman rights dimensions of the crisis. The operation EUFOR RCA was established by the EU Councilon 10 February and will be deployed as soon as possible with the specific purpose to protect civilians.Ministers were briefed by the United Nations on its assessment of the situation, and by the newlyappointed Operation Commander for EUFOR RCA, Major General Philippe Pontiès, on forcegeneration and the state of preparation of the operation's deployment. Ministers expressed concernat the situation in the Central African Republic and called for the swift deployment of the EUoperation.For more information and audiovisual coverage, see the websites of theGreek PresidencyandEurope by Satellite.

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