§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answers of 6 December 1999,Official Report, columns 343–44W, on the common foreign and security policy, if he will make a statement on developments in the issues referred to in his answers following the European Council in Helsinki in December 1999. [105657]
§ Mr. HoonAt the Helsinki European Council, EU member states committed themselves to improving their military capabilities so that they will be better able to assemble, deploy rapidly and sustain effective forces for NATO or EU-led operations. In particular, they agreed a headline goal, specifying that by 2003 they should be able to deploy within 60 days, and sustain for at least one year, military forces of up to 50,000–60,000 persons capable of undertaking the full range of Petersberg tasks.
487WThe Helsinki European Council also confirmed the political and military structures that will be necessary for the EU to decide and act in response to crises, where NATO as a whole is not engaged. To this end, EU member states agreed to establish a permanent EU Political and Security Committee, an EU Military Committee, and an EU Military Staff, with interim bodies to be established by March 2000.
This work will be taken forward under the Portuguese Presidency of the EU.