| Eu approves first mission outside europe { June 4 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://www.canada.com/news/story.asp?id=20CAA756-9699-468E-A119-8A2C9549DA0Bhttp://www.canada.com/news/story.asp?id=20CAA756-9699-468E-A119-8A2C9549DA0B
EU approves French-led Congo peacekeeping mission; first outside Europe Canadian Press
Wednesday, June 04, 2003 BRUSSELS (CP) - The European Union agreed Wednesday to send peacekeeping troops to strife-torn Congo in what will be the first deployment of its nascent force outside Europe and without NATO help.
EU ambassadors in Brussels approved the mission, to be dubbed Artemis after the Greek goddess of hunting, diplomats said on condition of anonymity. EU ministers were expected to formally ratify the decision Thursday. The 1,400-member force, under French command, was authorized by the UN Security Council last Friday. It will be only the second military mission undertaken by the EU, which will have political responsibility for the operation.
The bloc took over peacekeeping duties in Macedonia last March with about 400 troops, but received planning and logistical support from NATO, which includes the United States.
A mission to northeast Congo, where tribal fighting over the past month has killed more than 500 people, would be a far bigger test of the EU's effort to develop a military wing independent of NATO to add muscle to its foreign policy.
The EU aims to increase its influence on the world stage - especially in American eyes - by speaking with a single voice in foreign affairs. Those aspirations took a battering during the Iraq crisis, when the EU found itself hopelessly divided, but remain alive.
Last month, EU defence ministers declared their rapid-reaction force was ready. It is a pool of 60,000 troops available on short notice for peacekeeping, humanitarian operations and regional crises.
European leaders insist it is not aimed at weakening the Atlantic alliance, but would instead strengthen NATO by sharpening Europe's military capacity.
Having the mission under EU auspices will also ease concerns of the Rwandans, who have considerable influence in eastern Congo but who were uneasy over a French-led operation.
The Congo mission would be the riskiest yet. "The situation is anything but safe or stable at the moment," EU spokesman Diego de Ojeda conceded.
France, which has extensive experience intervening in African trouble spots, will supply the commander of the Congo force and about 700 troops. Britain, Belgium, Sweden and Ireland may also participate along with non-EU nations such as Canada, South Africa, Brazil and Ethiopia, European diplomats say.
The vanguard of the force is expected in the city of Bunia this weekend.
On Tuesday, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan announced he was sending retired Canadian Forces chief Gen. Maurice Baril and another envoy to help break an impasse over the formation of a new Congolese army.
Annan said he is grateful to France and other countries that have offered troops for a French-led international force to stabilize the situation.
But Annan said the United Nations and the international community also need to press ahead with implementation of a March 6 agreement fleshing out key details of a Dec. 17 power-sharing deal between the Congolese government, its armed and unarmed opponents and civil society representatives - and the formation of a transitional government.
France will hold a conference next week in Paris for countries that want to contribute troops. The final order to deploy and an operational plan should be approved the next day, diplomats said, adding that both were considered formalities.
The force will take over from about 750 beleaguered UN peacekeepers from Uruguay until Sept. 1, when a larger UN force led by Bangladesh is due to be in place.
Diplomats said the EU force would be well armed, backed by mechanized units and would operate under robust rules of engagement to allow it to defend itself and civilians. Its main tasks will be to secure Bunia and its airport and protect aid agencies and tens of thousands of refugees around the city.
© Copyright 2003 The Canadian Press
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