2ND EU nixes extension of Congo mission, discusses Bosnia By Shada Islam

dpa German Press Agency
Published: Monday October 2, 2006

By Shada Islam, Kittila, Finland- European Union defence chiefs Monday ruled out calls for an extension of the bloc's military mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but said they would keep a close watch on events after the second round of presidential polls end-October. Ministers meeting in Kittila in northern Finland, discussed plans for winding down the EU's 6,000 strong military presence in Bosnia and also called on Sudan to agree to a transfer of the current African military operation in Darfur to the United Nations.

German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung told ministers he was determined to keep to the November 30 deadline for bringing 2,000 European troops home from Congo.

"I am totally convinced that we can fulfil our job after four months," said Jung, referring to the end-November deadline.

The Congo mission is headed by General Karlheinz Viereck, a German, and Berlin has also contributed 780 troops to the operation.

Echoing Jung's comments, EU chief diplomat Javier Solana said the bloc was committed to remaining in Congo under the second round of presidential polls.

"In principle we do not have to think of anything else," said Solana.

Asked if the operation could be extended if there was an upsurge of violence following the October 29 presidential polls, Solana said "we will ... leave at the right moment."

The EU is under pressure from human rights groups to extend its deployment in Congo until after December to prevent any bloodshed following the announcement of voting results at the end of November.

The two presidential candidates, President Joseph Kabila and Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba, failed to win an overall majority in a first round of voting on July 30.

Assessing their mission in Bosnia, ministers voiced satisfaction at the conduct of polls in the country and discussed plans to start downsizing the bloc's Bosnia military operation from 6,000 troops to 1,500.

But Finnish Defence Minister Seppo Kaariainen, who chaired the meeting as representative of the current EU presidency, said political events in the Balkans were inter-related and the decision was conditional on the situation in Kosovo.

Former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, currently the United Nations envoy for Kosovo, is widely expected later this year to offer Kosovo a form of independence despite opposition from Serbia and the local Serb minority. The province is formally a part of Serbia but has been run by the United Nations since 1999.

Solana also urged Sudanese authorities to drop their current opposition to the transfer in December of the current African Union operation in Darfur to the United Nations.

"We are working very hard diplomatically so that they change their mind and accept a transfer of responsibility to the UN," said Solana.

The change-over would still leave the core of the Darfur mission in African hands, with the EU and the US providing training, logistical and financial help, he said.

Solana added that there appeared to some progress on the issue since Khartoum could now accept an "African Union plus" mission which could be "getting closer to a UN force."

The EU chief diplomat also said the bloc was mulling over demands to provide assistance for security sector reform in Lebanon.

European governments have sent about 7,000 soldiers to Lebanon as part of a UN operation to supervise a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah fighters.

On Tuesday, EU ministers are expected to endorse a new security strategy underlining that the bloc must in future focus on bringing security and stability to conflict zones rather than achieving victory against conventional enemies.

The study, drawn up by the European Defence Agency also warns that Europe's recruitment pool for soldiers is shrinking because of falling fertility rates and an ageing population.

Given the changing nature of global threats, EU military interventions in the future will "not necessarily involve fighting battles," it said.

Instead the focus will be on "diplomacy in preventing wars from occurring, containing those conflicts that do occur and discouraging the emergence of parties whose objective it is to contribution to the generation of a crisis."

© 2006 dpa German Press Agency