Dutch Defence Minister: Parliaments Must Increase Cooperation

October 3, 2012 defpro.com

“National parliaments of the European Union must maintain closer contacts in the field of military cooperation.” This appeal was made by Dutch Defence Minister Hans Hillen during the meeting of EU Ministers of Defence in Nicosia, Cyprus.

Mr Hillen considers the harmonisation of Defence policy as a shared responsibility of governments and parliaments. "Ministers can coordinate the development of new capabilities and investments. But if the parliaments of the countries in question do not follow this development, there is the risk of an impasse when it comes to the question of troop deployment”. Yesterday, Mr Hillen made the same appeal to the spokespersons of the House of Representatives during the debate on the EU meeting. He took Belgium as an example of such cooperation. The navies of Belgium and the Netherlands have worked together closely for many years. The political management of far-reaching military cooperation does not stop with the Belgian and Dutch governments. Both countries’ parliaments should also confer with each other on a regular basis.

VISION

Two years ago in Ghent, the EU Defence Ministers decided to cooperate more closely in developing their capabilities and making new capital investments, prompted in part by shrinking defence budgets. This initiative received a new impetus after the operations over Libya, which showed up a number of shortcomings in the (European) military capabilities. The European Defence Agency (EDA) identified twelve priority projects within its ‘pooling and sharing' initiative. The EU member states also asked the EDA to develop a long-term vision based on the principle that countries make cooperation a top priority when developing new capabilities, such as the acquisition of new equipment. In the framework of the ‘Ghent initiative’, Germany, France and the Netherlands are leading a project for strengthening European Air-to-Air Refuelling capability.

SECURITY SITUATION

In Nicosia, the ministers also discussed the situation in Mali, where security has seriously deteriorated in the recent past. There has been an increase in organised crime and terrorism, much of it by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). They also addressed the ongoing EU missions, such as the counterpiracy mission off the Horn of Africa. The number of successful attacks on merchant shipping has fallen sharply in 2012, thanks in part to the robust and proactive Operation Atalanta. In April, the mandate of this EU-mission was expanded to enable land-based operations, such as disrupting logistical camps. The Netherlands is not currently participating in Operation Atalanta, but is participating in the NATO mission Ocean Shield. A contribution to Operation Atalanta is being considered for 2013.

PRAISE

In addition to this, the Netherlands provided a permanent security team of marines during the past few months. This Autonomous Vessel Protection Detachment protects ships of the World Food Programme (WFP) for Somalia. The Netherlands received high praise for this during the meeting in Cyprus. The contribution, which finishes in October, will be continued by Germany. The advantage of a permanent team is that the navy vessels do not need to continuously escort the WFP ships and can be deployed more effectively for the Atalanta mission.