Alle ogen gericht op Veiligheidsconferentie München 2013 (en)
The weekend 1 to 3 February, 2013 marks the 49th Munich Security Conference. On top of this year's agenda are current crises such as in Mali and Syria, transatlantic cooperation in NATO, the role of rising power in international security, cyber security and the responsibility to protect.
The Munich Security Conference has become the major security policy conference worldwide. Every year, for nearly five decades it has brought together senior figures from the “strategic community” in the field of foreign and defence policy around the world to participate in intensive debates, exchanging new ideas and promoting peaceful conflict resolution, cooperation, and dialogue in dealing with current and future security challenges.
High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the Commission Catherine Ashton will participate in the conference. Prominent figures including U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, several heads of state and government and more than 50 foreign and defence ministers from around the world and CEOs of large corporations will also be present.
Catherine Ashton at a previous Munich Security Conference
"What future for the Euro-Atlantic Security Community?" - The EU's involvement
On Saturday 2 February HR/VP Catherine Ashton will take part in a discussion entitled "What future for the Euro-Atlantic Security Community?" together NATO Secretary General Rasmussen. German Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Guido Westerwelle, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The discussion will be chaired by Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger.
The European Union has a unique role as a security provider and an added value in conflict prevention and crisis management: its comprehensive approach encompasses a wide range of tools including military power, political and diplomatic action, trade, humanitarian assistance and long-term development aid.
The EU remains committed to enhancing the effectiveness of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) as a tangible EU contribution to international crisis management. The EU plays an important role in its neighbourhood and globally. CSDP missions and operations are an essential element of the EU's comprehensive approach in crisis regions, such as the Western Balkans, the Horn of Africa, the Middle East, Sahel, Afghanistan and the South Caucasus and the EU remains committed to increasing their operational effectiveness and efficiency. CSDP missions and operations should be carried out in close cooperation with other relevant international actors, such as the UN, NATO, the OSCE and the African Union, as well as partner countries, as called for in each specific situation.
In May 2012 the EU, represented by HR/VP Catherine Ashton, President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy, and President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso, participated in the Summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Chicago where it continued to stress its determination to further enhance its ability to address security and defence challenges, notably by strengthening military capabilities in Europe, and its commitment to develop cooperation with NATO. While most of its Member States are also members of NATO, the EU has in recent years developed a strong partnership with the organisation: at political level through enhanced institutional cooperation, in operations since both are deployed together in several theatres - such as Afghanistan, Kosovo, or the fight against piracy in the Horn of Africa - as well as in the development of military capabilities. The overall context of financial crisis and the new US strategic orientations have made this collaboration even more essential.
In the area of defence capabilities, the EU has made substantial progress through concrete projects facilitated by the European Defence Agency (EDA) on the Pooling & Sharing of defence capabilities among Member States, for example in the areas of Air-to-Air Refuelling or Medical Field Hospitals. The close cooperation between the EU and NATO ensures that the EU’s work on Pooling and Sharing and NATO’s equivalent Smart Defence concept are, in practice, complementary and mutually reinforcing.
Green Blade 2012 - EDA multinational helicopter exercise © Nicolas Deplanque
In December 2012, the European Council invited the High Representative, notably through the European External Action Service and the European Defence Agency, as well as the Commission, to develop further proposals and actions to strengthen CSDP and improve the availability of the required civilian and military capabilities with a view to the December 2013 European Council which will discuss defence matters.
The agenda of the 49th Security Security Conference is available here