The Finnish Presidency Progress
Report to the Helsinki European Council
Strengthening of the Common European
Policy on Security and Defence: Crisis Management
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The Presidency has responded as a matter
of priority to the mandate given by the Cologne European Council to strengthen
the common European policy on security and defence by taking the work forward
in military and non-military aspects of crisis management. The work has
been based on the guiding principles agreed at Cologne, which have been
reaffirmed by the Member States.
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Work has yielded two separate progress
reports to the European Council which are intended to be complementary
and taken forward in parallel. The reports propose concrete measures to
be taken jointly by the Member States and the European Union and provide
guidance for the further work necessary to achieve the objectives set at
Cologne by the end of the year 2000. When implemented, they should allow
the European Union to play its full role on the international stage, and
thereby enhance European security.
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To assume their responsibilities across
the full range of conflict prevention and crisis management tasks defined
in the EU Treaty, the Petersberg tasks, the Member States will have to
improve their military capabilities and establish new political and military
structures for the Union. The objective is for the Union to have an autonomous
capacity to decide to launch and then to conduct EU-led military operations
in response to international crises, without prejudice to actions by NATO.
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The Member States and the Union have
a considerable experience and possess significant resources in civilian
crisis management. In order to enhance its contribution to crisis management
and to be able to respond better to emerging crises, the Union will have
to make those resources more efficient and strengthen their synergy. Their
speed of deployment will have to be improved, with special attention given
to a rapid reaction capability.
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The new measures for crisis management
will be taken in support of the Common Foreign and Security Policy and
they will complement the Union's comprehensive external role which covers
the full scope of the Union's activities. With the enhancement and concertation
of military and civilian crisis response tools, the Union will be able
to resort to the whole range of instruments from diplomatic activity, humanitarian
assistance and economic measures to civilian policing and the deployment
of military forces.
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The Atlantic Alliance remains the foundation
of the collective defence of its members. The development of the common
European policy on security and defence will take place without prejudice
to the commitments under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty and Article
V of the Brussels Treaty, which will be preserved for the Member States
party to these Treaties, or the specific character of the security and
defence policy of certain Member States and with the maximum transparency
between the EU and NATO.
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The Union will contribute to international
peace and security in accordance with the purposes and principles of the
United Nations Charter. Following up the principles and objectives of the
OSCE Charter for European Security, the Union will cooperate with the UN,
the OSCE, the Council of Europe and other international organisations in
a mutually reinforcing. manner in stability promotion, early warning, conflict
prevention crisis management and post-conflict reconstruction.
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