[A-List] EU integration struggles: the directorate strengthens

["Michael Keaney" <michael.keaney@xxxxxx>]

Germany to join Anglo-French combat units
By Judy Dempsey in Brussels
Financial Times: February 11 2004

Germany is to join forces with Britain and France to create highly trained,
rapid deployment units for combat in jungle, desert and mountain operations.

Tuesday's decision, made a week before a summit of British, French and
German leaders in Berlin, signals the ever-growing co-operation between
Europe's big three countries on a wide range of issues.

The ambitious defence plans for establishing "battle-groups" were on Tuesday
presented jointly by all three to the European Union's special ambassadors
that deal with security and military matters.

"Of course we are on board," said a German diplomat, dismissing earlier
suggestions from France that Berlin was only lukewarm about the Anglo-French
initiative.
"This is now a trilateral initiative. What has to be worked out is how many
troops we will contribute," he added.

Germany officials said the closer trilateral defence ties were a follow-up
to an agreement by the three countries last December ahead of the EU summit
where efforts to agree a new constitution collapsed.

"We agreed on structured co-operation in defence. A few countries would take
the lead; others would join if they met the criteria. This battle-groups
initiative is about taking it for- ward," said another German official.

The battle-groups will be made up of around 1,500 troops. They would be
deployed within 15 days, be able to remain on a mission for up to 30 days,
extendable to three months.

Diplomats said Berlin would be prepared to contribute up to 1,500 troops.
This would be in addition to the 10,000 troops it has deployed in
Afghanistan, the Balkans and the Horn of Africa.

Although the initiative to establish "battle-groups" was spearheaded by
Britain and France who have worked closely on defence since their 1998 St
Malo summit, Berlin and Paris have recently started co-operating on defence
and postwar reconstruction efforts outside Europe.

In Iraq, France, Germany and Japan have decided to combine their efforts in
civilian reconstruction. Germany will train 2,000 Iraqi police in the United
Arab Emirates. France will build new schools and libraries in Iraq. Japan
will provide material and technical assistance and all three countries have
made the upgrading of the water and electricity sector a priority.

In Afghanistan, where Germany and France have 1,500 and 550 troops
respectively, they recently agreed that the five-member "Eurocorps" military
grouping that also includes Spain, Belgium and Luxembourg would rotate the
command of the 5,500 strong Nato-led International Security Assistance Force
from next autumn. Canada took over the Isaf command from Berlin last Monday.

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Fresh items appear on Big Three's agenda
By Bertrand Benoit and Hugh Williamson in Berlin
Financial Times: February 11 2004

The trilateral summit between France, Britain and Germany next week will
address a broader range of topics than previously foreseen, including
sensitive themes such as the next wave of enlargement and Europe's future
constitution.

The more political topics, to be discussed over dinner after the summit
proper, will add to the already rich official agenda that focuses on
innovation, labour markets and social security.

The range of subjects for discussion next Wednesday could make it hard for
the participants to fend off claims that the European Union is increasingly
dominated by the Big Three.

The organisers have sought to present the meeting as an effort to support
the Irish EU presidency ahead of potentially divisive debates this year.

Yet German officials say the three countries should not refrain from
co-ordinating on European policy simply because they represent a majority of
the EU population. The centrepiece will be an afternoon session focusing on
economic and social security, to be attended by the social security,
education, economics and finance ministers.

The participants will then split over dinner, with Chancellor Gerhard
Schröder, President Jacques Chirac and prime minister Tony Blair meeting
separately with their foreign ministers and foreign policy advisers to
ponder this year's "hotter" EU questions.

Items for discussion will include the future wave of EU enlargement, whether
Turkey should be allowed to start accession negotiations, and issues about
the future EU constitution such as which policy areas should in future be
subject to qualified majority voting.

The three countries have yet to hammer out a joint view on whether tax,
social policy, EU finances and justice and home affairs fall under this
category.

While the dinner is not expected to yield a formal agreement, the afternoon
session aims to produce a single policy initiative covering the labour
market, social security and innovation, to be presented to the other EU
states at the March European Council meeting in Ireland.

London has responsibility for drafting common goals on labour market issues
while Paris is responsible for social security and Berlin for innovation.

Proposals to support innovation in the economy are likely to include
mechanisms to ensure future EU legislation is checked for "anti-business"
implicat-ions, proposals to help smaller companies secure funding, and a
review of patent and state aid regulations.

In the social security area, the three will also seek common ground on
improved healthcare, quality assurance, prevention, and pension provision.