Source: https://www.treffpunkteuropa.de/The-Creation-of-a-Rapid-Reaction-Force-by-an-Avantguard-Group-of?lang=fr
Timestamp: 2020-01-19 07:11:07
Document Index: 110338200

Matched Legal Cases: ['art. 28', 'art. 28', 'art. 28', 'Art. 28', 'art. 28', 'art. 28', 'art. 28']

The Creation of a Rapid Reaction Force by an Avantguard Group of Countries : a Proposal (2/3) - Le Taurillon
8 août 2008 , par Domenico Moro
To sum up : compared to what has been established in European Treaties up to now, art. 28 provides for two channels to finance foreign policy and security. The first channel gives direct access to the allocation of funds from the Union budget for missions provided for in two distinct articles, 28A, par. 1 and 28B [7]. The second channel gives access to an “initial fund” created by the contributions of member States. This “fund” was established by a qualified majority decision and also concerns missions provided for in the two articles quoted above [8].
Apparently there does not seem to be a direct connection, on the one hand, between permanent structured cooperation, the financing of which is left to the participating States ; and, on the other hand, the resorting to European funds in the framework of the EU formed by 27 States.
One must however be aware of what the two articles state. First of all art. 28B, par. 2 claims : “The Council shall adopt decisions relating to the tasks referred to in paragraph 1, defining their objectives and scope and the general conditions for their implementation”. And then in the subsequent art. 28C : “Within the framework of the decisions adopted in accordance with Article 28 B, the Council may entrust the implementation of a task to a group of Member States which are willing and have the necessary capability for such a task”.
[2] AA.VV., The ERRF and the NRF - The European Rapid Reaction Force and the NATO Reaction Force : Compatibilities and Choices, Rubbettino, Rome, 2004 ; and : POSEN B., Europe cannot advance on two fronts, Financial Times, 24 April 2003.
[3] AA.VV., The ERRF and the NRF, op. cit. ; and : GASPARINI G., 26 torrents do not make a great river : the European defence budgets, IAI, 2007.
[5] To complete the information framework, other sources have tried to make an estimate on how much the investment necessary for the establishment of the RRTF would amount to. The estimates vary between 25 and 45 billion euros, to be divided over several years. See : CHARLES W., ZYCHER B., European Military
[6] About the financing of a European defence, see : CARDOT P., Dotons l’Union européenne d’un budget de PESD, in : Défense nationale, 2004.
[7] Art. 28, par. 3 : “The Council shall adopt a decision establishing the specific procedures for guaranteeing rapid access to appropriations in the Union budget for urgent financing of initiatives in the framework of the common foreign and security policy, and in particular for preparatory activities for the tasks referred to in Article 28 A(1) and Article 28 B. It shall act after consulting the European Parliament”. 11 Article 28, par. 3, sub-section 2 and f., provides as follows : “Preparatory activities for the tasks referred to in Article 28 A(1) and Article 28 B which are not charged to the Union budget shall be financed by a start-up fund made up of Member States’ contributions. The Council shall adopt by a qualified majority, on a proposal from the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, decisions establishing : (a) the procedures for setting up and financing the start-up fund, in particular the amounts allocated to the fund ; (b) the procedures for administering the start-up fund ; (c) the financial control procedures.”
[8] Par. 1 of art. 28A provides for : “The common security and defence policy shall be an integral part of the common foreign and security policy. It shall provide the Union with an operational capacity drawing on civilian and military assets. The Union may use them on missions outside the Union for peace-keeping, conflict prevention and strengthening international security in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter. The performance of these tasks shall be undertaken using capabilities provided by the Member States.” ; whereas art. 28B provides as follows : “1. The tasks referred to in Article 28 A(1), in the course of which the Union may use civilian and military means, shall include joint disarmament operations, humanitarian and rescue tasks, military advice and assistance tasks, conflict prevention and peace-keeping tasks, tasks of combat forces in crisis management, including peace-making and post-conflict stabilisation. All these tasks may contribute to the fight against terrorism, including by supporting third countries in combating terrorism in their territories. 2. The Council shall adopt decisions relating to the tasks referred to in paragraph 1, defining their objectives and scope and the general conditions for their implementation. The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, acting under the authority of the Council and in close and constant contact with the Political and Security Committee, shall ensure coordination of the civilian and military aspects of such tasks.” Incidentally, it should be noted that the missions art. 28B refers to, do not only include the so-called “Petersberg tasks”, but seem to also include the so-called “high intensity” military operations.