Newsgroup: it.politica
Titolo: L'esercito dell'Unione Europea (inglese lungo)

Da Internet:
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EU To Start Building Defense Force
Nov 18 12:48AM 2000
      BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - The European Union begins building its own
defense force Monday, a 60,000-man rapid reaction corps some say strengthens
European security and others believe could be the first step in wrecking
NATO.
      Just a year after the 15 EU leaders decided at their summit in
Helsinki, Finland, to launch the process, EU nations will begin pledging
troops and equipment for the new force, which is essentially to be used for
humanitarian, peacekeeping and peacemaking duties.
      The Europeans say they need this force to act in crises where NATO as
a whole - and the United States in particular - does not want to get
involved. Some in the United States and Europe, however, view the push for a
European force as part of a French-led effort to dilute Washington's
influence on the continent.
      Javier Solana, the EU's chief of foreign and security policy, says the
Americans have no reason to worry.
      ``By pulling its full weight, the European Union will contribute to
trans-Atlantic relations by better sharing the burden of security,'' Solana
said. ``We are doing what they have urged us to do for decades.''
      The United States says it supports the EU's foray into military
affairs, known as the European Security and Defense Policy, as long as it's
done right.
      ``Done properly, ESDP can increase the capabilities available to NATO
and the EU to deter or respond to crises,'' Alexander Vershbow, the American
ambassador to NATO, said in a speech last month. ``Done poorly, this process
can divide the trans-Atlantic alliance, lead to decreased U.S. engagement in
European security matters and diminish European capacity to manage crises.''
      That is precisely what has more than a few Americans and Europeans
worried.
      No new military units are being created. When the EU defense ministers
gather here Monday, they will be pledging existing troops and equipment to
the EU. Many of those troops are also pledged to NATO.
      No surprises are expected at Monday's pledging conference. A senior EU
official said member countries have already indicated they will be pledging
more than 100,000 soldiers, 400 combat aircraft and more than 400 ships. The
EU needs a pool of 100,000-120,000 troops from which to draw the 60,000
because it is not possible to know in advance what kind of forces will be
necessary for any given mission. If six-monthly rotation of forces is
considered, that figure must be doubled to more than 200,000.
      While the EU is eager to have its own military force - even one as
small as 60,000 - it still wants to be able to fall back on NATO's assets.
      The EU and NATO are deep into discussions about how the new
relationship will work. NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson insists the
talks are making ``good progress'' in all areas. Other diplomats say the
discussions are very difficult, not to say deadlocked.
      More than anything else, the United States wants it to be clear that
NATO is the first option for dealing with security crises and is not
circumvented by the EU striking off on its own.
      Washington is also concerned about unnecessary duplication,
particularly in the area of planning. The Americans prefer that the new EU
military entity use existing NATO planning structures rather than siphoning
off energy and resources to create a separate facility for the EU, as the
French would prefer.
      In addition, European NATO members who are not also members of the EU,
Turkey and Iceland in particular, worry about promising the EU automatic
access to alliance assets when they are not a part of the EU decision-making
process. The United States has been pushing for these countries to be
allowed full participation in EU decisions concerning the force.
      On the EU side, some neutral countries, which are not members of NATO,
see the move into military matters as more than they bargained for when the
joined the Union.
      The reality is NATO has few assets of its own. Most of the assets in
question - such as satellite intelligence, communications and transport -
are American. Washington also wants a permanent regular relationship with
the EU rather than the French idea for occasional meetings when crises
arise.
      Many see Monday's pledging conference as key to European resolve, both
to upgrade the quality of their forces and to increase defense spending.
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Saluti.

E finalmente Repubblica.it scrisse quello
che io ho segnalato da 2 giorni.
Vedere per credere:
http://www.repubblica.it/online/mondo/esercitoue/esercitoue/esercitoue.html
Grande Internet.
Saluti.