§ Mr. SoamesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the military capabilities that have been fully implemented as specified in the(a) Helsinki Headline Goal Catalogue 2003, (b) the Helsinki Force Catalogue and (c) the Helsinki Progress Catalogue. [155203]
§ Mr. HoonThere is no Helsinki Headline Goal Catalogue 2003. The Helsinki Headline Goal Catalogue first compiled in 2000, and refined in 2001 and 2002, lists 144 military capability areas required of the EU in order to conduct the Petersberg Tasks within recognised crisis management scenarios. The Helsinki Force Catalogue 2003 and Supplementary Catalogue—which together list the actual forces and capabilities offered by member, accession and third states—show that at least 118 of these capability areas have been met. The Helsinki Progress Catalogue 2003 assesses the progress made overall in the delivery of Headline and Capability Goals, and outlines when new capabilities will feed in to the Force Catalogue. Work now continues—in conjunction with the European Capabilities Action Plan—to address those shortfalls that remain. New Force and Progress Catalogues are expected later this year, and will incorporate the offers made by the ten new members of the EU.
§ Mr. SoamesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what changes have been introduced in the implementation of the EU Headline Goal; and if he will make a statement. [155209]
§ Mr. HoonNo changes have been introduced to the implementation of the Helsinki Headline Goal. However, with the evolution of the strategic environment and of technology, and following the intergovernmental conference and redefinition of the Petersberg Tasks, and with EU accession, continued progress in the European Capabilities Action Plan, the elaboration of rapid response elements, a European Security Strategy, and further work on rotation, readiness, concurrency and redundancy, a successor Headline Goal is now under discussion, with a target date of 2010. This Goal will place a new emphasis on interoperability, deployability and sustainability as its major themes. We anticipate an announcement at the European Council in June.