European Defence Agency,
Secretary of State for Defence, John Hutton today marked the 10th Anniversary of the Saint-Malo declaration on European Union Defence by welcoming the French Defence Minister, Herve Morin, to the UK based Operational Headquarters for the forthcoming EU-led counter Piracy mission.
The UK, with France, was at the forefront in launching what would become European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) at the Saint-Malo summit 10 years ago. Since then the EU has launched more than 20 civilian and military missions in three continents. The UK will lead its first ESDP mission later this month when it takes operational command of the EU counter piracy mission – Op Atlanta.
Secretary of State for Defence John Hutton said:
“The EU mission to tackle piracy off the coast of Somalia to be launched later this month is the latest example of the progress in European Defence in the last 10 years and evidence of UK's commitment to ESDP.
“The EU has a powerful set of resources – civilian expertise, military forces, economic might and the most extensive diplomatic network in the world, as well as being the biggest donor of development funding in the world. This makes it uniquely placed to respond to instability.
“The UK has welcomed the progress made on European Defence by France during her Presidency of the EU, particularly on helping to develop military capabilities and highlighting the importance of burden sharing.”
Background Information
1. The declaration at the Franco-British Summit at Saint-Malo (3-4 December 1998) was the catalyst for the EU's engagement in military and civilian crisis management operations, which led to ESDP.
2. The decision to launch an ESDP mission is made by unanimous agreement of all EU member states, which means that the UK has a veto. Once Member States agree to launch an operation, Member States offer military or civilian assets on a voluntary basis. The British Government always decides for itself when and where to deploy its own national forces.
3. In response to the increase in piracy in the Gulf of Aden, the UK has supported EU planning for a counter-piracy naval operation off the coast of Somalia.
4. The operation, OP ATALANTA, is planned to launch at the Foreign Minister's General Affairs and External Relations Council on 8 December
5. The UK has provided the Operation Commander, Rear Admiral Phil Jones, and the Multinational Operation Headquarters at Northwood. The UK will also provide a frigate for the first period of the operation.
6. The key tasks of the operation will be to ensure the protection of World Food Programme and other vulnerable shipping, but also to provide deterrence by presence and surveillance.
