Civilian-military cooperation and the development of civilian-military capabilities European Parliament resolution of 23 November 2010 on civilian-military cooperation and the development of civilian-military capabilities (2010/2071(INI))
Date: 2010-11-23
Institutions: Committee on Foreign Affairs, European Parliament
Subjects: civil defence, common security and defence policy, foreign policy, human rights, international security, military cooperation, natural disaster, settlement of disputes








CE2012099EN.01000701.xml










3.4.2012   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


CE 99/7





Tuesday 23 November 2010Civilian-military cooperation and the development of civilian-military capabilities
P7_TA(2010)0419
European Parliament resolution of 23 November 2010 on civilian-military cooperation and the development of civilian-military capabilities (2010/2071(INI))
2012/C 99 E/02

The European Parliament,






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having regard to Title V of the Treaty on European Union,










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having regard to the European Security Strategy entitled ‘A secure Europe in a better world’, adopted by the European Council on 12 December 2003, and to the report on its implementation entitled ‘Providing security in a changing world’, endorsed by the European Council on 11-12 December 2008,










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having regard to the Internal Security Strategy for the European Union, endorsed by the European Council on 25-26 March 2010,










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having regard to the Council conclusions on CSDP adopted on 26 April 2010,










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having regard to the ESDP conclusions and the declaration entitled ‘ESDP Ten Years – Challenges and Opportunities’, adopted by the Council on 17 November 2009,










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having regard to the declaration on the enhancement of the European Security and Defence Policy, adopted by the European Council on 12 December 2008, and to the declaration on strengthening capabilities, adopted by the Council on 11 December 2008,










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having regard to the Presidency conclusions adopted by the European Council at Santa Maria de Feira on 20 June 2000 and at Göteborg on 16 June 2001, to the EU Programme for the Prevention of Violent Conflicts also adopted at Göteborg on 16 June 2001, to the Civilian Headline Goal 2008, approved by the European Council on 17 December 2004, and to the Civilian Headline Goal 2010, approved by the Council on 19 November 2007,










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having regard to the Presidency conclusions adopted by the European Council at Helsinki on 11 December 1999 (Headline Goal 2003) and to the Headline Goal 2010, approved by the Council on 17 May 2004,










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having regard to the Council conclusions of 30 November 2009 on strengthening chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) security in the European Union and approving an EU CBRN Action Plan,










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having regard to the Council paper ‘Implementation of UNSCR 1325 as reinforced by UNSCR 1820 in the context of ESDP’ of 3 December 2008, and to the Council document on ‘Mainstreaming of Human Rights into ESDP’ of 14 September 2006,










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having regard to its resolution of 10 February 2010 on the recent earthquake in Haiti, which calls for the establishment of an EU Civil Protection Force (1),










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having regard to its resolution of 10 March 2010 on the implementation of the European Security Strategy and the Common Security and Defence Policy (2),










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having regard to the Council Decision of 26 July 2010 establishing the organisation and functioning of the European External Action Service (3),










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having regard to Rule 48 of its Rules of Procedure,










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having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (A7-0308/2010),






General considerations








1.


Recalls that the EU has committed itself to defining and pursuing common policies and actions to preserve peace, prevent conflicts, consolidate post-conflict rehabilitation and strengthen international security in accordance with the principles of the UN Charter, as well as to consolidate and support democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the principles of international law, and to assist populations facing natural or man-made disasters;










2.


Points out that internal and external security are increasingly intertwined and that, by developing its crisis management, conflict prevention and peace-building policies and capabilities in line with the above objectives, the EU also helps to safeguard the security of its own citizens;










3.


Underlines that the EU, mainly through its civilian crisis management, offers a distinct contribution to global security, reflecting its core values and principles;










4.


Stresses that effective responses to present-day crises and security threats, including natural disasters, often need to be able to draw on both civilian and military capabilities and require closer cooperation between them; recalls that the development of the EU’s comprehensive approach and of its combined military and civilian crisis management capabilities have been distinctive features of the CSDP and represent its core added value; recalls at the same time that the CSDP is not the only tool available and that CSDP missions should be used as part of a broader EU strategy;










5.


Recalls the need for an EU White Paper on security and defence, based on systematic and rigorous security and defence reviews conducted by the States according to common criteria and a common timetable, which would define the Union's security and defence objectives, interests and needs more clearly in relation to the means and resources available; emphasises that the White Paper should also define areas in which, and conditions under which, greater civilian-military cooperation is desirable to help achieve those objectives; takes the view that the EU White Paper should identify explicitly opportunities for the pooling of resources at EU level, as well as national specialisation and capability harmonisation, in order to achieve large economies of scale;






Enhancing civilian-military coordination








6.


Emphasises that the establishment of the European External Action Service (EEAS) should contribute further to the development of a truly comprehensive European approach to civilian and military crisis management, conflict prevention and peace-building and provide the EU with adequate structures, staffing levels and financial resources to meet its global responsibilities in line with the UN Charter;










7.


Fully supports the transfer of the CSDP structures, including the Crisis Management Planning Directorate, the Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability, the EU Military Staff and the Situation Centre, to the EEAS, under the direct authority and responsibility of the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy; recalls the pledge made by the Vice-President/High Representative to ensure that they work in close cooperation and synergy with the relevant Commission units transferred to the EEAS which deal with the planning and programming of crisis response, conflict prevention and peace-building; urges the Vice-President/High Representative to ensure that these units work on an equal footing with the CSDP structures; stresses that no formal or informal control by the CSDP structures of the planning and programming of measures financed from the Instrument for Stability is acceptable and insists that the transferred Commission structures must not be dismantled;










8.


For the sake of the development of the EU's comprehensive approach, also encourages close coordination between the EEAS and all relevant units remaining within the Commission, in particular those dealing with development, humanitarian aid, civil protection and public health; stresses the need for direct links between the EEAS and CSDP agencies, namely the European Defence Agency, the EU Institute for Security Studies, the European Security and Defence College and the EU Satellite Centre;










9.


Draws attention to the role of the Commission's Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC) in facilitating disaster relief coordination under the Civil Protection Mechanism and highlights the need for close cooperation between the centre and the EEAS to be ensured by the Vice-President/High Representative in her capacity as Vice-President of the Commission; calls for improved coordination and faster deployment of military assets in the context of disaster relief, in particular air transport capabilities, based on the lessons learned in Haiti and while respecting the primarily civilian nature of disaster relief operations; reiterates its call for further improvement of the Civil Protection Mechanism to establish a voluntary pool of Member States’ assets on stand-by for immediate deployment in disaster response operations; suggests that these assets be coordinated and deployed under the designation of an EU Civil Protection Force to increase the visibility of EU action; recalls at the same time the individual responsibility of the Member States for civil protection and disaster control measures;










10.


Advocates also improved coordination between the Member State humanitarian agencies and DG ECHO for relief operations following natural or man-made disasters;










11.


Calls on the Council to promptly adopt the necessary decisions to give effect to the mutual assistance clause as outlined in Article 42(7) TEU as well as the solidarity clause as outlined in Article 222 TFEU, which should reflect the EU's comprehensive approach and build on civil-military resources;










12.


Recalls the successful development of the Peace-building Partnership between the Commission and non-governmental organisations, and that good cooperation between non-governmental, civil-society organisations and the future EEAS is of crucial importance; calls on the Commission to further develop the framework for cooperation with NGOs and to promote the use of non-state actors in the Union's conflict prevention and conflict management activities, also by including them in EU training activities;





Strategic level







13.


On the political-strategic level, welcomes the integration of civilian and military elements within the Crisis Management Planning Directorate (CMPD) as a step in the right direction; emphasises, however, the need to strike a proper balance between civilian and military strategic planning capabilities, not only in terms of numbers, but also with regard to hierarchy, in order to exploit to the full the synergies available; highlights at the same time the need to duly respect the differences between civilian and military roles and their distinctive objectives and to make sure that an appropriate mixture of human resources is allocated to each operation on a case-by-case basis;










14.


In particular, urges the Vice-President/High Representative to address the shortage of staff as regards experts on civilian mission planning and capability development and to make sure that the CMPD includes a sufficient number of experts from all the priority civilian capability areas, namely police, justice, civilian administration, civil protection and monitoring, as well as in the area of human rights;










15.


Emphasises the need, in routine phases, to develop a common situation awareness shared by all EU stakeholders (EEAS, but also all relevant units from the Commission: DG DEV, DG ECHO, DG SANCO, with the support of each of their crisis assessment capabilities), which should be reflected in all EU regional or country strategic papers; stresses that the reshaped EU delegations have a key role to play in this process;










16.


Calls for an improved role for the Heads of EU Delegations and/or EU Special Representatives - when present in the area of crisis - in the civilian-military coordination efforts, also with a view to securing closer political oversight on the ground;





Operational level







17.


On the operational planning level, calls for a significant strengthening of civilian planning capabilities to match the ambitions of civilian CSDP missions, by consolidating the Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability (CPCC) as regards staffing levels as well as by means of a better division of tasks between the strategic and operational levels; stresses that this division of tasks needs to be based on a balanced and comprehensive personnel strategy; takes the view that, in the light of the responsibilities of the Civilian Operations Commander, this function needs to be placed at an appropriate (i.e. higher) level within the EEAS hierarchy;










18.


Reiterates its call for the establishment of a permanent EU operational headquarters, responsible for operational planning and conduct of EU military operations, to replace the current system of using one of the seven available headquarters on an ad hoc basis; stresses that such a move would guarantee a coherent chain of command and greatly increase the EU's capacity for rapid and consistent responses to crises (notably by enhancing the EU’s institutional memory) and also reduce costs;










19.


Takes the view that the operational headquarters should be placed alongside the CPCC in order to maximise the benefits of civilian-military coordination, including the pooling of certain functions, and to better promote best practices among EU planners; suggests even that the operational headquarters and the CPCC might be integrated into a joint EU ‘Crisis Management Headquarters’ that would be responsible for the operational planning and conduct of all EU civilian missions, military operations and security sector reform missions;










20.


Emphasises, however, that due account needs to be taken of the differences between civilian and military planning and that separate chains of command need to be maintained, with a Civilian Operations Commander and a Military Operations Commander retaining their own competences and enjoying the same hierarchical status within the EEAS;






Building EU civilian and military capabilities








21.


Points to the number of commitments that Member States have given regarding the development of both military and civilian crisis management capabilities, from the Helsinki and Santa Maria de Feira European Councils to the December 2008 declaration on strengthening capabilities; urges the Member States and the Vice-President/High Representative to ensure that these commitments are properly implemented so as to close the glaring gap between existing operational capabilities and the stated political goals;










22.


In the context of the follow-up to the Headline Goals 2010, calls on the Member States to concentrate on the concrete delivery of capabilities and to focus on areas with the potential for civilian-military synergies, especially those already identified, in order to achieve genuine progress as soon as possible; stresses the need for capability development to be guided by specific requirements for CSDP missions; welcomes the Comprehensive Capability Development Process for military capabilities within the European Defence Agency; encourages further discussion on how to bridge the two capability development processes under the civilian and military headline goals;










23.


Welcomes the efforts of the past and the current rotating Council Presidencies to start a process aiming at the clarification of the nature and scope of the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PSC) as outlined in Article 42(6) TEU; calls on the Council to deliver promptly a clear understanding of the PSC, taking into consideration the civil-military nature of the EU’s comprehensive approach, and to present concrete steps on how to start the PSC in view of the current financial crisis and decreasing national defence budgets among the EU Member States;





Staffing of missions







24.


In the light of the political commitments given, calls on the Member States urgently to address the chronic shortfall in civilian personnel in CSDP missions, especially EULEX Kosovo and EUPOL Afghanistan, in particular by stepping up work to establish national strategies to facilitate the deployment of civilian mission personnel; urges that, as part of these strategies, the competent national authorities, such as ministries of the interior and justice, in close cooperation with the ministries of defence, should develop a more structured approach to the task of laying down appropriate conditions for the participation of civilian personnel in CSDP missions, especially as regards career prospects and remuneration;










25.


In that context, calls on the Member States to ensure, in particular, that participation in CSDP missions is regarded as an important advantage for career development in their police and justice systems and that the services that second civilians to these missions are appropriately compensated for the temporary loss of staff; takes the view that the Council should ensure that per diem rates for CSDP mission personnel are tailored to the circumstances of the mission in question;










26.


Reiterates the need for compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, which requires a gender-balanced staffing and training approach to all missions and a gender focus on all actions undertaken; stresses that an adequate number of women in civilian or military missions is a crucial condition for the success of those missions, be it in peacekeeping or disaster relief operations, as well as in diplomatic mediation, as a way to ensure that women’s needs, rights and interests are properly addressed and to ensure women's involvement in the actions and objectives of the mission; recalls that the EU Member States need to develop national Action Plans to ensure compliance with Resolution 1325;





Training







27.


Stresses the need for appropriate pre-deployment training to be provided, which could include participation by civilian personnel in military exercises, including contingency rehearsals, and by military personnel in civilian training and/or exercises; strongly recommends that Member States maintain rosters of deployable civilians with relevant competences, in particular those trained for missions carried out alongside military forces; welcomes the practice employed by certain Member States of having a dedicated centralised agency responsible for the recruitment and training of all deployable civilian personnel;










28.


Supports the development by the Council of the Goalkeeper software environment to facilitate the recruitment and training of personnel for civilian missions;










29.


Recalls the European Group on Training financed by the Commission and stresses that one of its lessons learned is that investment in training needs to be linked to de facto deployments; welcomes the emphasis placed by the Commission on ensuring that the forthcoming civilian training project financed under the Instrument for Stability will target experts already identified for future deployment on missions;










30.


Emphasises, in line with the 2008 Council recommendations, the enhanced role the European Security and Defence College (ESDC) should play in the field of capacity building and training for effective crisis management in the light of the setting-up of the EEAS; urges the Council to improve the training facilities and staffing of the ESDC, including by providing it with a permanent seat, in order to guarantee sustainable and effective training at the strategic, operational and tactical levels for civilian and military personnel of the Member States and EU institutions; calls for the creation of scholarships for young graduates willing to specialise in fields which are needed;










31.


Calls for a preparatory action in order to develop and make available training on mediation and dialogue in the light of the establishment of the EEAS, in line with the ‘Concept on Strengthening EU Mediation and Dialogue Capacities’ adopted by the Council in 2009;





Rapid financing







32.


Encourages further efforts to speed up the provision of financing for civilian missions and to simplify decision-making procedures and implementation arrangements; stresses the need for the relevant Commission departments to work closely and on an equal footing with the crisis management structures within the EEAS so as to allow rapid start-up financing of civilian missions; calls, for the sake of transparency and accountability, for one budget line to be created for each CSDP mission;










33.


Calls on the Council to quickly take the appropriate decisions to establish the start-up fund as outlined in Article 41 TEU, after consulting the European Parliament; calls on the Vice-President/High Representative to inform Parliament regularly on the state of play once the fund has been set up;





Crisis management tools







34.


Welcomes the development of the concept of Integrated Police Units (IPUs), i.e. robust, rapidly deployable, flexible and interoperable forces able to perform executive law-enforcement tasks, which, in certain circumstances, can also be deployed as part of a military operation and under military command; notes the successful application of this concept in Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of EUFOR Althea and in Kosovo within EULEX; highlights the need for such units, which are especially well-suited to intervening in non-stabilised situations and in particular during the transition from military to civilian command; recommends that Member States invest in the development of such capabilities;










35.


In that context, fully supports the use of the European Gendarmerie Force (EGF), which can be placed under military or civilian command and provides a capability for the rapid deployment of expeditionary police missions, as a highly suitable tool for a range of effective crisis management operations, including post-disaster stabilisation missions; calls on all Member States which have police forces with military status to join the initiative;










36.


Welcomes the progress achieved in developing the pool of experts for the Civilian Response Teams (CRTs) to provide a rapid assessment capability, but stresses that further extension of these lists needs to be achieved; highlights the importance of early-assessment and fact-finding capabilities in ensuring that the EU responds to crises using the most appropriate means available;










37.


Stresses the need for the EU, in time of crisis, to be able to deploy multidisciplinary teams within the first hours of the crisis, which would be composed of civilian, military and civ-mil experts from the EEAS and the Commission;










38.


Calls on the Vice-President/High Representative, the Council and the Commission to present a common understanding of the new CSDP missions as outlined in Article 43 TEU and how they will be handled in the context of the established civilian-military cooperation; encourages them in this context to speed up the establishment of a pool of security sector reform experts to enhance the EU's capability in this field;










39.


Calls on the Member States to make optimal use of the existing tools and put in place impact evaluation mechanisms before formulating new, ambitious goals;










40.


Is convinced that the EU battlegroups represent a suitable tool for crisis management operations; reiterates its call to the Council to increase their usability and flexibility; calls also for the improvement of their usability for civilian-military humanitarian relief operations, in full compliance with the revised Oslo guidelines for the use of military and civil defence assets in disaster relief;










41.


Urges the Member States to reach agreement on expanding the concept of common costs associated with the use of the battlegroups (costs to be financed through the Athena mechanism), or on common funding of the totality of the costs of crisis management operations carried out by them; takes the view that such an agreement is necessary to make their use politically and economically acceptable and ensure that the Member States on stand-by do not bear a disproportionate burden in a difficult budgetary situation; recalls in this regard that in November 2009 the Council invited the Council General Secretariat to elaborate ideas on the financing of military operations for discussion at high level in 2010, but no progress has been registered so far;










42.


Calls on the Member States to conceive of the battlegroups as long-term partnerships and not to dissolve them after their stand-by period has ended, so that the resources invested in their creation are not wasted; calls for them to be trained to operate alongside civilian deployments; suggests even that they might include civilian units or experts within their set-up, in particular IPUs;






Providing the means for comprehensive crisis management








43.


Calls on the Member States to look further into developing dual-use capabilities for CSDP civilian missions and military operations, in particular transport capabilities, and to ensure interoperability in training and practice, making better use of existing approaches and capabilities and interlinking the civilian and military capability development processes where appropriate;





Research and technology







44.


Stresses that EU military and civilian personnel will increasingly be operating side by side and that they are to a large extent exposed to the same threats, such as improvised explosive devices, and in need of comparable capabilities in areas such as strategic and tactical transportation, logistical support, communication, intelligence gathering and evaluation systems, medical support, security and force protection, use of space capabilities, and unmanned vehicles;










45.


Emphasises, therefore, the need to coordinate and stimulate investment in dual-use technologies and capabilities, so as to quickly close capability gaps whilst avoiding unnecessary duplication, creating synergies and supporting standardisation; recalls the essential role in this respect to be played by the European Defence Agency, in the process of identifying the needs in the capabilities field and also in pointing out the ways in which those capabilities should be shared, pooled or attained among the Union's members, in order to deliver deployable means for the successful and secure conduct and implementation of CSDP operations;










46.


In that context, supports the establishment of the European Framework Cooperation for Security and Defence Research to ensure complementarity and synergy between defence R&T investment and research investment for enhancing civilian security by the Commission under the Research Framework Programme, for example in areas such as situational awareness, unmanned aerial vehicles, maritime surveillance, countering improvised explosive devices, CBRNE detection and protection, communication, intelligence gathering, evaluation and transfer of data, and cybersecurity;










47.


Notes, however, that this cooperation should not exceed what is necessary in the light of civilian-military cooperation in the areas of peace-keeping, conflict prevention, strengthening international security, crisis management and humanitarian aid;










48.


Welcomes the open debate of the EU ministers of defence during their informal meeting in Ghent on 23 and 24 September 2010 regarding European defence research and their assessment of the role of the EDA as outlined in Article 42(3) TEU;





Rapid provision of equipment







49.


Encourages further efforts to ensure that all the equipment needed for rapid crisis response activities, whether civilian or military, is readily available; welcomes ongoing work on an inventory management system for civilian CSDP missions; calls on the Vice-President/High Representative to carry out a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis to determine optimal solutions for each kind of equipment needed; takes the view that, depending on the type of equipment, the right combination of warehousing at EU level, framework contracts and virtual stocks of equipment owned by the Member States needs to be found;










50.


Welcomes, in that context, the establishment of a temporary warehouse of civilian equipment in Bosnia and Herzegovina and calls for rapid progress in the setting-up of a permanent warehouse in order to better prepare the EU for civilian crisis management;





Multinational cooperation







51.


Encourages further progress in the area of the pooling and sharing of assets as a cost-effective way of increasing capabilities, which is all the more relevant in a time of budgetary austerity; welcomes, in particular, activities to address gaps in strategic airlift capabilities, namely the creation, by a number of Member States, of the European Air Transport Command (EATC), as well as the European Air Transport Fleet initiative; encourages the Vice-President/High Representative and the Member States to follow the European Defence Agency's recommendations and to speed up work to identify other areas in which to apply the pooling and sharing principles, including in the field of training or mission support; welcomes in this regard proposals to establish a multinational helicopter wing modelled on the EATC to be used for both civilian and military tasks;






Partnerships



EU-UN







52.


Recalls that the UN Security Council has primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security; stresses, therefore, the need for close cooperation between the EU and the UN in the area of civilian and military crisis management, and in particular in humanitarian relief operations where the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is in the lead role; calls for such cooperation to be strengthened particularly in theatres where one organisation is to take over from the other, especially in light of the mixed experience in Kosovo;










53.


Urges the Member States to ensure that they make adequate contributions to UN missions and that they contribute in a coordinated fashion; calls on the Vice-President/High Representative and the Council to further explore ways in which the EU as a whole can better contribute to UN-led efforts, such as by launching EU rapid response ‘bridging’ or ‘over the horizon’ operations or providing an EU component of a larger UN mission;










54.


Calls for improved monitoring of EU assistance implemented through UN organisations in line with the European Court of Auditors Special Report No 15/2009;





EU-NATO







55.


Points out that, since 21 out of 28 NATO members are EU Member States, close cooperation between the EU and NATO is of vital importance to avoid duplication of effort in the deployment of military capabilities when the two organisations operate in the same theatre, this without prejudice to the principle of decision-making autonomy and with due respect for the neutral status of some EU Member States; reiterates the urgent need to resolve the underlying political problems hampering EU-NATO cooperation and calls for the complete and more effective implementation of the ‘Berlin Plus’ arrangements in order to enable the two organisations to intervene effectively in current and future crises;










56.


Highlights the need to accord the same degree of transparency and involvement to non-EU NATO members and non-NATO EU members when joint activities are conducted, as stressed in the third chapter of the NATO 2020 report (‘Albright Report’);










57.


Calls on the Member States that are members of NATO to make sure that the new Strategic Concept of NATO does not lead to unnecessary duplication of effort in the area of civilian capabilities, which would cause further strain on already scarce resources; is convinced that NATO should rather be able to rely on the civilian capabilities of other international organisations such as the EU and the UN;










58.


Reiterates its support for closer EU-NATO cooperation in capability development and for compliance with NATO standards as far as possible; encourages further progress in the joint efforts to address the shortage of transport helicopters; welcomes initiatives to coordinate EU and NATO activities in the area of countering CBRN disasters and improvised explosive devices and providing medical support as matters of relevance to both civilian and military missions;





EU-OSCE-African Union







59.


Underlines the need for closer EU-OSCE and EU-AU cooperation in their particular operational areas, improving early warning and ensuring exchange of best practices and expertise in crisis management;




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60.


Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Vice-President/High Representative, the Council, the Commission, the parliaments of the Member States, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and the Secretaries-General of the United Nations and NATO.






(1)  Texts adopted, P7_TA(2010)0015.

(2)  Texts adopted, P7_TA(2010)0061.

(3)  OJ L 201, 3.8.2010, p. 30.