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Topic: EU battle groups

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	EU pushes ahead with battle group plans
		EU defence ministers began two days of informal talks Monday notably focused on plans to create a new system of rapid-reaction "battle groups" to be deployed to international hotspots.
		The battle group plans were unveiled late last year by France and Britain, to which Germany later catched on, after the first-ever EU military mission outside Europe, a French-led force that helped quell fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
		Diplomats said developing the battle group plans was a key item on the agenda of defence ministers, who were meeting for the first time since Ireland took over the rotating EU presidency in January.
	www.spacewar.com /2004/040405144055.1dl1vem1.html (414 words)

	EU Referendum
		It was in the air before this Blog started, when on 5 April, defence ministers of the EU member states agreed in Brussels to continue with the implementation of plans to deploy rapid reaction "battle groups" in international danger zones.
		The story re-emerged in May with the BBC reporting that the defence ministers had now committed themselves to forming seven such battle groups, all part of a broader strategic plan known as the "2010 Headline Goal" whereby the EU should, by 2010 be able to respond “with rapid and decisive action...
		We pointed out this EU dimension in our Blog, at the time, also pointing out that the groups, which would have to a air-portable, would be structured around the FRES concept, which is essential for rapidly deployable expeditionary forces.
	eureferendum.blogspot.com /2004/12/join-up-dots.html (1112 words)

	2004-09-09 Annotated agenda for the informal meeting of Defence Ministers of the European Union on 17 September 2004 (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-04)
		In 1999, the EU member states committed to the Helsinki Headline Goal, which was to be able, by 2003, to deploy a maximum of 60,000 troops within 60 days and maintain those troops in the area of operations for at least a year.
		As regards the EU battle groups, there should be no doubt as to the strictness of the requirements that must be set for such military formations.
		The initiative of the high-readiness EU battle groups focuses the attention once gain on the importance of strategic transport in relation to rapid deployability.
	mindef.nl:30280 /nieuws/parlement/brieven/20040909_annotatedagenda.html (2401 words)

	NewsRoom Finland
		EU member states have pledged to the Union's disposal a total of thirteen battle groups, each numbering 1,500 troops.
		Each battle group will be on call for six months at a time, prepared for a deployment running to a maximum of four months.
		He added that the battle group formed by Germany, the Netherlands and Finland was meant to be on call in the first half of 2007.
	virtual.finland.fi /stt/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=7442&group=Politics (389 words)

	France - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		A member of the G8 group of leading industrialised countries, it ranked as the fifth-largest economy in the world in 2004, behind the United States, Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
		France joined 10 other EU members to launch the Euro on January 1, 1999, with euro coins and banknotes completely replacing the French franc in early 2002.
		In 2003, France's natural population growth (excluding immigration) was responsible for almost all the natural growth in European population: the population of the European Union increased by 216,000 inhabitants (without immigration), of which 211,000 was the increase in France's population alone, and 5,000 was the increase in all the other countries of the EU combined.
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/France (4516 words)

	EUobserver.com
		EU defence ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday offered to provide air transport assistance to the African Union for the troubled region of Darfur in Sudan - all the while stressing that the bloc would not be stepping on NATO's toes.
		EU defence ministers meeting on Monday in Brussels took some more steps towards the creation of the bloc's own rapid reaction 'battle groups'.
		EU foreign ministers meeting today in Luxembourg are set to impose an arms embargo on Uzbekistan and cut financial support for the central-Asian republic.
	euobserver.com /index.phtml?sid=13 (585 words)

	Guardian Unlimited Politics \| Special Reports \| Battle groups aim for speed in a crisis
		But the battle group concept, agreed at the EU summit in June in Brussels, has been jointly pushed by Britain and France and is also backed by Germany.
		At an informal meeting of EU defence ministers in the Netherlands last month, the defence secretary Geoff Hoon said that Britain would put up its own battle group, that other larger EU members should do likewise, and that smaller countries could provide joint units.
		The battle group idea may also have better prospects because it is more modest, in many ways a scaling back of European military ambitions, according to experts, in that it is supplanting grander plans for a 60,000-strong European rapid reaction force.
	politics.guardian.co.uk /foreignaffairs/story/0,11538,1322563,00.html (704 words)

	EUPolitix.com - EU battlegroups agreed (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-04)
		EU defence ministers have agreed on the formation of 13 European battle-groups with the ability to react quickly to troublespots.
		The groups will be able to be mobilised in five days, be at an international trouble spot within ten days and able to stay for four months in the area.
		EU defence ministers also approved the budget and work programme of the new European defence agency.
	www.eupolitix.com /EN/Bulletins/PressReview/Items/200411/f286adb4-c996-426f-90a8-e80207182436.htm (130 words)

	EU Works to Improve Rapid Reaction Force
		The EU wants to improve its world-wide ability to intervene in trouble spots but has been held back by a severe lack of resources.
		The battle groups will serve on a rotating basis, and not all will be active at the same time.
		We can't have all the battle groups all the time ready to be sent within five days," he said.
	www.iwar.org.uk /news-archive/2005/03-18-6.htm (324 words)

	EU Referendum
		He is former chairman of the European Working Group of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. He served as Labour member of parliament for Hornchurch from 1966 to 1970, from March to October 1974 and from 1974 to 1979.
		Just over a week ago, Christopher Booker in his column had tackled the same issue, then remarking that there had been an extraordinary act of duplicity at the heart of the announcement by the defence Secretary, Geoff Hoon, that the British Army is to be restructured round a series of "larger regimental formations".
		On the one hand, the battle groups are "the basis of a possible European superpower" and, on the other, European countries are "merely putting on the table military forces that already exist."
	eureferendum.blogspot.com /2004/12/collapse-of-nato.html (782 words)

	FD - Utdrag fra EUs forsvarsministermøte 22. november
		Coordination between the EU and NATO is also essential in developing the EU Battle Group concept.
		Employment of the joint Battle Group will be based on the principles of the UN Charter and be in accordance with international law.
		The establishment and further development of the joint Battle Group will be based on close cooperation and consultations between the three countries and will be outlined in a Memorandum of Understanding which will include each country’s modalities for participation.
	odin.dep.no /fd/norsk/aktuelt/nyheter/010051-990085/dok-bn.html (462 words)

	EU: Agreement on Battle Groups and Bosnia - Europainformationen des EUD Internet Online Teams der Europa-Union
		- the operationalisation of the EU’s rapid response Battle Groups;
		The defence ministers also agreed to establish EU Battle Groups beginning with the Initial Operational Capability in 2005 and the initial commitments on the Full Operational Capability from 2007 onwards.
		On Bosnia, he stated that “the planning for the EU mission is on track and we foresee no major obstacles for a smooth transition from NATO to EU“.
	www.europa-web.de /europa/03euinf/10counc/groubosn.htm (381 words)

	Thus Saith the Fly: A Semi-Valiant Effort (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-04)
		France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Spain agreed to form one battle group apiece; where Germany fits into the scheme of things isn't specified, but the article says that the rest of the EU nations pledged to provide troops to at least one battle group.
		"The battle groups are at the forefront of capability improvement, providing the Union with credible, rapidly deployable, coherent force packages capable of stand-alone operations, for the initial phase of larger operations," said an EU statement.
		Estonia is participating in the EU's military operation in keeping peace in Bosnia and Hercegovina, and will take part in EU battle groups, which the EU agreed to establish last month.
	drosophil.blogspot.com /2004/12/semi-valiant-effort_30.html (1823 words)

	News Archive / October 2004. (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-04)
		EU leaders did their best to draw attention to how symbolic the event was and what lay ahead for Europe in the future.
		EU ministers are set to meet in Luxembourg this Monday (25 October) to try and agree a wide-ranging programme of immigration and asylum law.
		On Ukraine she said that EU membership was not on the agenda but that "in principle the door has not been closed".
	www.emins.org /english/press/news/0410.htm (15369 words)

	Sinn Féin: Sinn Féin MEP welcomes announcement on Irish non-participation in EU Battle Groups
		Ms McDonald said that "Sinn Féin had vehemently opposed the formation of EU battle groups, which served the purpose of Europe's military and economic elites and sidelined the United Nations in leading peacekeeping duties".
		It is understood that the battle groups would have been expected to go into action on notice of between five and 10 days.
		Sinn Féin has consistently cautioned against the deployment of EU battle groups, which we believe serve the purpose of Europe‚s military and economic elites and seek to sideline the United Nations ability to lead peacekeeping missions.
	sinnfein.ie /news/detail/8017 (508 words)

	ABC News: European Union to Expand Military Plans (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-04)
		The original plan was to have nine such groups of 1,500 troops ready by 2007, but EU military officials said an enthusiastic response from nations wanting to contribute forces meant that at least 12 would now be set up.
		Of the 12 battle groups, two will be kept on high alert, ready to deploy within 10 days and be self-supporting for up to four months.
		The EU police mission in Congo will be expanded from 15 to around 25 officers and be given a wider role in monitoring, training and equipping a local force that will be tasked with protecting the country's transitional government ahead of elections next year.
	abcnews.go.com /International/wireStory?id=267923&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312 (362 words)

	Dutch With Germans, Britons And Finns In EU Defence (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-04)
		The EU defence ministers had already agreed last September on setting up various battle groups numbering 1,500 military for deployment within five to 10 days in hotbeds around the entire world at the request of the United Nations.
		Which EU battle group is deployed when will partly depend on whether countries have to maintain troops available for the NATO rapid reaction force of 20,000 military.
		Nearly all EU member states are participating individually or in combination with others in the battle groups.
	www.nisnews.nl /public/231104_1.htm (314 words)

	Netherlands In Another EU Battle Group (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-04)
		There will also be a battle group of British and Dutch marines, for which each country will also reserve around 500 to 750 troops.
		The battle groups, intended for rapid deployment under the EU umbrella in hotbeds worldwide, are an initiative of Kamp's that took shape last year under the Dutch EU presidency.
		A total of 10 to 15 EU battle groups are to be available in rotation to carry out policing and military tasks in crisis areas.
	www.nisnews.nl /public/150905_1.htm (277 words)

	EU's non-superpower future
		The EU GDP is $12.3 trillion ($11.6 trillion for the United States), and it has 1.9 million military personnel (compared with America's 1.4 million).
		All of the EU members remain explicitly sovereign nations - members can leave if they want to - and each maintains its own armed forces and conducts its own foreign policy, as can be seen in the widely diverging approaches of France and the United Kingdom with respect to the Iraq war.
		Though all states are bound through both the EU and NATO to help each other in the event of a foreign attack, participating in a European-initiated war or peacekeeping operation remains completely optional for each member state.
	www3.sympatico.ca /ian.g.mason/EU_NonSuperpower.htm (1054 words)

	The National Forum on Europe - MEP warns on battle groups plan (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-04)
		Mr Esko Seppänen said the establishment of the EU battle groups had begun already, even though the constitution had not yet come into force.
		Mr Seppänen warned Irish citizens that the flow of EU funds would soon dry up and this would be a shock as Ireland had always been net receivers, instead of net payers.
		Fianna Fáil senator Mr Martin Mansergh said the EU had been "overwhelmingly benign" for Ireland and the rest of Europe and there was no reason to believe that it would suddenly become a malignant force.
	www.forumoneurope.ie /index.asp?locID=173&docID=695 (482 words)

	Forum Europe - News Detail
		Finland and Sweden have agreed to set up a joint Nordic battle group as their contribution to an EU rapidly deployable force.
		Accepting a NATO country (Norway) into a battle group together with two non-aligned countries (Finland and Sweden) would not be a problem, Swedish Premier Göran Persson indicated.
		The question is rather whether the EU would accept a non-EU member (Norway) to participate in the battle groups.
	www.forum-europe.com /news_detail.asp?ID=282 (230 words)

	NATO Topics - NATO-EU (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-04)
		Transfer of responsibilities to the EU The arrangements made for cooperation between NATO and the WEU from 1991 to 2000 laid the groundwork for the subsequent development of the strategic partnership between NATO and the EU.
		Developing the foundations for cooperation with the EU With the transfer of responsibilities from the WEU to the EU, the relationship between NATO and the EU took on a new dimension.
		The EU also decided to develop arrangements for full consultation, cooperation and transparency with NATO and to ensure the necessary dialogue, consultation and cooperation with European NATO members which are not members of the EU on issues related to European security and defence policy and crisis management.
	www.nato.int /issues/nato-eu/eu-responsability.html (2702 words)

	Forum Europe - News Detail
		With the backing of the Social Democrat opposition party, there is now a majority in the Oslo Parliament to commit 150 troops to EU forces, but leading legal experts have raised doubts as to whether such participation would conflict with the Norwegian constitution.
		The EU battle groups project will see the creation of groups of 1,500 soldiers, which could be sent to international trouble spots from 2007, according to the "Headline Goal 2010" document, adopted by EU defence ministers in Brussels in May.
		On 25 November, EU defence ministers will meet in Brussels where each of them is to announce their contribution to the common battle groups.
	www.forum-europe.com /news_detail.asp?ID=308 (299 words)

	The campaign against the EU Constitution - Vote No (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-04)
		According to EU plans, the 13 battle groups will contain 1,500 soldiers each and are to be mobilised within 10 days to trouble spots around the world.
		Any suggestion of the battle groups be used to go to war is likely to be strongly resisted by neutral countries such as Sweden, Finland and Ireland - all 25 member states have to give their approval before the EU may engage in military operations.
		According to the new EU Constitution, if it is adopted, the EU's military capabilities can be used for ""joint disarmament operations, humanitarian and rescue tasks, military advice and assistance tasks, conflict prevention and peacekeeping tasks, tasks of combat forces in crisis management, including peacemaking and post-conflict stabilisation [Art III 210]".
	www.vote-no.com /presscentre/newsarchive.aspx?id=662 (321 words)

	Euromedia: "Big Three" take steps towards joint defense
		The Guardian piece touches on the reasons why: EU members are not spending enough to modernize their armies and they won't combine resources in order to save money.
		Under the ambitious plan, the three countries will create battle groups of well-trained troops ready to be deployed at a moment's notice to prevent fighting or restore peace around the world.
		The aim is for the the joint battle groups, capable of air, land and amphibious missions, to be ready by 2007.
	journalism.berkeley.edu /projects/euromedia/archives/001972.html (739 words)

	Flexing EU Muscles - Global Policy Forum - UN Security Council
		European Union defence ministers are meeting later this week in the Netherlands, which currently holds the grouping's six-month rotating presidency.
		One item on the agenda are the so-called EU battle groups, units of 1500 soldiers ready for quick deployment abroad, primarily at the request of the United Nations.
		The battle group concept, for example - broadly accepted across the European Union as being a good idea: getting troops into the field quickly, supporting UN operations - means that you need rapidly deployable forces.
	www.globalpolicy.org /security/peacekpg/region/0915battlegroups.htm (797 words)

	[No title]
		Taken as a whole, however, these groups still represent a small fringe of protest and discontent which is easily outvoted: the issue, however, is whether they can destabilise the political process and force mainstream politicians to change some of their policies.
		J) A more coherent EU, it was argued by German foreign affairs minister, Joschka Fischer, could lead to a new governance trilateralism, balancing the U.S. on one side, a new Europe on the other, and a reinvigorated UN system in the middle.
		EU President-in-office Simitis noted that the summit showed that the transatlantic relationship works, produces results, and is of fundamental importance for both sides.
	www.international-relations.com /wbeu/WBEU-Lec6-2004.doc (11473 words)

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