History in the making as ‘Eufor’ takes over in Macedonia

Date: 03/04/03

By David Cronin

THE three flags say it all. The European Union this week took over responsibility for peacekeeping in Macedonia from NATO, following a ceremony on Skopje. It is the first military mission in EU history. The Union, which has named the Eufor deployment 'Operation Concordia', is in charge of 350 soldiers from 27 countries.

SOLDIERS from Canada, Turkey and Norway are among those taking part in the EU's first ever military mission after the Union took charge of peacekeeping in Macedonia on Monday (31 March).

Some 350 troops will be deployed in the Balkan state as part of 'Operation Concordia' for the next six months.

Officials said the mandate could be extended.

Also, although the United States is preoccupied with the war in Iraq, the possibility of US troops joining the 'Eufor' operation at a later stage has not been ruled out.

Concordia involves a baton-change from NATO to the EU. Some 4,600 troops were originally deployed as part of NATO-led Task Force Harvest following an armed insurgence by ethnic Albanians in 2001; a slimmed-down version of the force has remained there since then.

Under the so-called Berlin Plus agreement, the Union will have access to NATO assets throughout the operation.

In practical terms, this means the EU has its own planning office at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Mons.

The force is under the operational command of Admiral Rainer Feist.

The German, meanwhile, will continue to wear his NATO 'hat' as number two to US Marine General James L. Jones, the supreme allied commander in Europe.

The EU force commander on the ground, French Major-General Pierre Maral, will be based in Skopje.

The military personnel will be divided into 30 teams of four, spread across the country. 22 'light' teams will patrol in ordinary vehicles, while eight 'heavy' liaison teams will have the use of armoured vehicles.

One SHAPE officer said the changeover to EU responsibility was generally viewed positively by the North Atlantic Alliance. The only doubts raised about the EU's capabilities, the officer added, were during planning for worst-case scenarios.

NATO has contingency plans for extracting the EU-led forces from Macedonia in the event of any outbreak of violence which they are unable to contain.

"I have not seen any signs of fissures or divisions [within SHAPE]," the officer added.

"The only change I've seen is that there's an EU liaison officer and a couple more new officers walking around here. And there's an EU flag beside the flags of SHAPE and NATO out front."

Javier Solana, the EU's high representative for foreign policy, hailed the changeover as the start of "a new phase of reinforced partnership" between the Union and NATO.

"It is not 'the European Union in' and 'NATO out'," he said during the operation's launch in Skopje. "It is that the two are stronger together here and elsewhere."

Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski, at whose invitation the Eufor troops are there, sees the force as a stepping stone towards his country's entry into the EU and NATO.

He said: "Our ambition is full membership in the Union and I would like to see this mission and our joint efforts in promoting stability as a step in that direction. The more of the EU we have in Macedonia, the more of Macedonia there will be in the EU."

All of the EU-15, bar Ireland and Denmark, have seconded troops to Concordia, which is set to cost the Union €6.2 million.

The 14 non-EU countries participating include all eight of the central and eastern European states due to join the Union next year. But Cyprus and Malta, which are also scheduled to enter the EU in 2004, are not represented.

The European Union took over responsibility for peacekeeping in Macedonia from NATO, following a ceremony in Skopje on 31 March 2003. The Eufor deployment, named 'Operation Concordia', is the first military mission in EU history.