EU police head for Afghan war zone

After 15 joint security missions, the EU is about to enter what could be its most dangerous theatre of operations, Afghanistan.

A police mission to Kosovo being planned for later this year will give the EU greater responsibility: the EU will have full control of policing in the province. Last year’s mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo was probably more influential: the 900 EU troops helped ensure that the country’s first democratic elections since independence passed off peacefully.

But when EU defence ministers gather for an informal meeting in the German town of Wiesbaden today (1 March) they will discuss a mission that puts EU personnel at the centre of one of the world’s most serious ongoing conflicts.

In many ways the Afghanistan mission will be an unprecedented step. Although the EU is already training Iraqi police, it is doing so at arms length, at training centres outside Iraq and in very low numbers.

The details of the Afghanistan operation are still being drawn up, but around 160 EU personnel are likely to be based in the country, training local police.

The mission will not be a step in the dark, according to one EU diplomat, who describes the operation as being a long-term commitment that will "build on work that has already been done by the member states individually".

Germany, which is currently leading efforts to train the Afghan police, already has around half that number of trainers in the country.

Aside from Germany, which has a lead role in training police, both the UK and Italy are currently involved heavily in areas that will now see the EU play a key role.

The UK is leading the international coalition’s efforts to deal with Afghanistan’s massive opium production and Italy is in charge of judicial reform.

Supporters of the plan say that a high-profile police mission and the plan to place advisers in important ministries will give the EU political clout in Afghanistan to match its pledge of €600 million over the next three years.

But diplomats stress that the EU will not be assuming some quasi-imperial role as it has done in the Balkans.

It is about "strengthening the Afghan state", according to one EU diplomat, who stressed the need for EU aid to be "seen as giving assistance to the Afghan government, not as interference". "They are a proud people," the diplomat added.

One of the key questions defence ministers will face is whether the EU’s presence will extend beyond the Afghan capital Kabul. For the European Commission, which will provide advisers to Afghan ministries in the hope of improving the rule of law, the question of deploying staff beyond the capital’s relative peace is moot, as the ministries are in the capital. For the police, the question is a more difficult one.

"The rule of law has to be extended to all of Afghanistan, outside Kabul," one EU diplomat said. "One of the problems is physical security. It is hard enough to ensure security in Kabul," he added.

Tim Williams, head of the European security programme at RUSI, a defence think-tank based in London, said: "It is difficult for reconstruction, stabilisation and civilian help to be carried out given the current security situation, particularly in the south." According to Williams, even if it was initially based in Kabul the mission would give an important, albeit modest, boost to the Afghan police. And despite reports of a Taliban spring offensive and suspicion of Afghan police being corrupt, Williams cautioned against comparisons with Iraq.

The Afghan police force was not put together with the same haste as the Iraqi police force and did not suffer from the same level of ethnic tension, he said.

Still, both diplomats and observers admitted that as well as helping Afghanistan to avoid becoming a failed state, the EU’s mission was about politics.

"The US is announcing that it is spending $1 billion (€761 million) in the police sector, [there is] concern that the EU is seen to keep its end up," said one EU diplomat.

The announcement of an EU police mission is seen by many observers as a response to US criticism that the EU is not doing enough.

France in particular has faced criticism from many in the US and the UK for failing to provide more troops to NATO forces and was accused of standing back while NATO’s first mission outside Europe falters.

"NATO has been asking the EU for a while to increase its involvement in Afghanistan," Williams said. "A number of key [EU] countries have not been involved in Afghanistan on the military side to the degree that might have been expected.

In private, diplomats admit that the EU police mission may provide a defence when NATO is asking European states to increase troop levels.

The arrival of the EU police force may also provide useful political cover for the Italian government, whose leader, Romano Prodi, resigned last week because of opposition to his plan to deploy more Italian troops in Afghanistan.

After 15 joint security missions, the EU is about to enter what could be its most dangerous theatre of operations, Afghanistan.