New security strategy calls for world-wide preventive actions
01 August 2003
In June the EU published a series of security documents, including a draft of a EU security strategy and an action plan for non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). According to Jane's Defence Weekly the documents introduce a new element of strategic thinking in the EU debate on defence and security. Even more important the documents allow for the use of force to prevent WMD proliferation.
EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg approved two documents
Basic Principles for an EU strategy against Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and the
Action Plan for the Implementation of the Basic Principles for an EU Strategy against Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction. In the first document the ministers declared that member states may on occasions use military force to stop the spread of WMD:
When [non-military] measures have failed, coercive measures under Chapter VII of the UN Charter and international law (sanctions, selective or global, interceptions of shipments and, as appropriate, use of force) could be envisioned.
According to Jane's this line of thinking "moves the EU defence philosophy more in line with that of the US." The main difference is still that the Europeans understand use of force always within the context of a UN Charter resolution or at least with the Security Council acting in a central role (but that means without a clear mandate).
However in another important document, a draft EU security strategy brought forward by the EU high representative for common foreign and security policy, Javier Solana calls for new or improved rule which would allow for effective, yet legal action against new threats, in his words "robust interventions". International laws should evolve against proliferation, terrorism and global warming (sic), the security strategy states. Jane's concludes that the logic of the new EU security strategy suggests that more scrutiny may be given to the legality of the use of force in a pre-emptive scenario in order to allow for effective action against the combination of WMD and terrorism. Before December the European Council of ministers and the European Commission will produce a detailed strategic document on the basis of the Solana paper.
Jane's Defence Weekly "EU rethinks security stance" 30.7.03 (Tomas Valasek); UZ Nr. 26/2003 "EU droht mit weltweiten Interventionismus" [EU threatens with world-wide interventionism] (Arno Neuber), www.imi-online.de