§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made on the Common Foreign and Security Policy's Headline Goal; and if he will make a statement on when the forces will be available for use. [73208]
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§ Mr. HoonThe Helsinki Headline Goal has been broken down into 144 capability targets, of which 104 had been met following the Capabilities Improvement Conference in November 2001. Of the 40 shortfalls, about half may be resolved by improved management of existing forces. For the rest, a European Capability Action Plan (ECAP) was launched after the conference, comprising multinational panels tasked with suggesting possible solutions. Where a permanent solution is not possible by the end of 2003, interim solutions should be addressed. The European Council in Laeken in December 2001 agreed that the European Union was now able to conduct some crisis management operations and would be in a position to take on progressively more demanding operations as the assets and capabilities at its disposal continue to develop. There is no intention to create a standing EU force: existing national or multinational forces will be made available to the EU on a case by case basis when required for an operation.