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WESTERN EUROPEANUNION

COUNCa OF MINISTERS

BONN, 19 JUNE 1992

PETERSBERGDECLARAnON

ON WEU AND EUROPEAN SECURITY

.

Developments in the security situation in Europe, disannament and anns

control

1. Ministers reviewed the significant changes hat had taken place in the

security situation in Europe since their last regular meeting n November 1991.

They emphasized he importanceof strengthening he role and nstitutions of the

CSCE for peace and security in Europe. They looked forward to decisions at

Helsinki to start new negotiationson measures f arms control and disarmament

and to enhance egular consultationsand cooperationon security matters. In the

light of the establishment f a new CSCE Forum for Security Cooperation, hey

considered that decisions to enhance the CSCE's capabilities for conflict

prevention, crisis management nd the peaceful settlementof disputes are of

primary importance.They supported he proposalunderdiscussionat the Helsinki

Follow-up meeting or the CSCE o declare tself as a regional arrangement nder

Chapter vrn of the United Nations Charter. Ministers considered hat the CSCE

should have he authority to initiate and pursuepeacekeeping perationsunder ts

own responsibility.

2. As WEU develops its operational capabilities in accordance with the

Maastricht Declaration, we are prepared o support, on a case-by-case asis and

in accordance with our own procedures, the effective implementation of

conflict-prevention and crisis-managementmeasures, ncluding peacekeeping

activities of the CSCE or the United Nations Security Council. This will be done

without prejudice to possible contributionsby other CSCE countries and other

organisations o theseactivities.

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3. Ministers welcomed he decisions aken by the CSCE Council in Berlin

and Prague regarding the relationshipsbetween he CSCE and other mutually

reinforcing European and transatlantic organizations ncluding WEU. They

declared hat WEU, togetherwith the Europe:mUnion, was ready to playa full

part in building up Europe's security architecture.They likewise reaffirmed their

conviction that the Atlantic Alliance is one of the indispensable oundations of

Europe's security. They welcomed he ongoing reform process of NATO with

a view to establishinga strong new transatlanticpartnership.

4. Ministers welcomed the agreement eached at the CFE Extraordinary

Conferenceon 5 June 1992 n Oslo which provides the basis for the entry into

force of the CFE Treaty which has beenand remainsa major objective of their

arms control agenda. ts full and effective mplementationwill increasestability

and open he way to a new cooperativesecurity order in Europe. They call upon

the new Statesparties to the Treaty to ensure ts ratification by the time of the

CSCE Summit in Helsinki. Ministers attachgreat importance o the conclusion

of an agreementon the limitation of personnel trengthsof ground and air forces

(CFE la) in time for the Helsinki Summit and to the mplementationof the Open

Skies Treaty. They reaffirmed their commitment o the early entry into force of

the Open Skies agreement nd nvited other CSCE States o accede o the Treaty

in accordancewith its provisions.

5. Ministers welcomedsteps ecently akenby the Statesconcerned o allow

for the entry into force of the START Treaty and the important agreementon

further strategic reductions reached between he United States and Russia in

Washingtonon 17 June 1992.

6. Ministers recalled hat the presence f foreign forces on the territory of a

sovereign state requires the explicit consent of that state. They stressed he

importanceof rapidly establishing, n the negotiationsunder way, timetables or

the withdrawal of foreign troops from the territory of the Baltic States.

7. Ministers expressedheir conviction hat a ChemicalWeaponsConvention

can be reached within the next few months. They are confident that this

Conventioncan play an important and pioneering ole in worldwide multilateral

arms control and call on all memberStatesof the Conferenceon Disarmament

to lend their support to the emergingconsensus. hey repeat heir commitment

to be among he original signatoriesof this Conventionand ask all other nations

to follow this course.

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13. WEU Ministers welcomed he IEPG DefenceMinisters' decision, at their

Oslo meetingon 6 March 1992, o analyse he future role of the IEPG in the new

Europeansecurity architecture.This representsa positive development ully in

line with the objective set by WEU member States n Maastricht further to

examineenhanced ooperation n the field of armamentswith the aim of creating

a WEU EuropeanAnnamentsAgency. WEU Ministers propose hat both WEU

and IEPG experts analyse his issue n depth, carry out an initial examination of

the role and functions of a possibleEuropeanArmamentsAgency and submit a

report for consideration.

14. WEU Ministers welcomed he decision of Eurogroup Defence Ministers

at their meeting n Brusselson 25 May 1992 o consider he possibility, among

other options, and f the necessary reconditionsare met, of transferring o WEU

some or all of Eurogroup's present unctions or which there is still a need.

15. Ministers notedwith satisfaction he considerable rogresswhich had been

made n setting up the experimentalWEU Satellite Centre in Torrej6n (Spain),

a concrete example of the strengtheningof WEU's operational role, and they

looked forward to the official inaugurationwhich would take place later in the

year. They also noted hat the contract or the main system easibility study had

been awarded to a consortium of firms from WEU member States ed by a

German inn.

Activities of Working Groups

16. In the field of verification, Ministers noted with satisfaction hat a set of

rules for the operationof multinational eams n CFE had beenprepared n WEU

and had subsequentlybeen adopted n the Alliance. This represented he first

example since the Maastricht Declaration of the introduction of joint positions

agreed n WEU into the processof consultation n the Alliance.

17. Noting the progress which had been made so far, Ministers agreed in

principle to a feasibility study to identify the most cost-effective means of

implementing he Open SkiesTreaty cooperativelyamong member States.They

tasked he group of experts to agreeassumptions or the study, to identify the

options which merit further study and to consider he question of costs, with a

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view to taking a decision at their next ordinary meeting o proceed with the

study. They stressed he readiness f WEU to cooperatewith third parties at a

later stage,and in this context welcomed he contactswhich had takenplace with

other Europeanallies, as well as with the RussianFederation.They agreed hat

experts should investigate he possibilities for- intensified cooperation with the

RussianFederation, which could include a joint feasibility study and/or a trial

overflight.

18. Ministers reaffirmed the importanceof the MediterraneanSub-Group's

work on security in the Mediterranean.They adopted enDSof reference or the

establishmentby WEU of a gradual and phased dialogue with the Maghreb

countries, taking into account he political developments oth in thesecountries

and in the region.

WEU Institute for Security Studies

19. Ministers noted with satisfaction he activities of the WEU Institute for

Security Studies in Paris. Its publications, seminarsand colloquia had greatly

contributed to deepening understanding or the ongoing development of a

Europeansecurity identity and to enhancing elations betweenWEU and other

Europeancountries.

.

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D.

ON STRENGTHENING WEU'S OPERAll0NAL ROLE

-

1. In accordance with the decision contained in the Declaration of the

memberStatesof WEU at Maastricht on 10 December1991 o develop WEU as

the defencecomponentof the EuropeanUnion and as he means o strengthen he

European pillar of the Atlantic Alliance, WEU member States have been

examining and defining appropriatemissions,structuresand meanscovering, in

particular, a WEU planning cell and military units answerable o WEU, in order

to strengthenWEU's operational ole.

2. WEU member Statesdeclare that they are prepared to make available

military units from the whole spectrumof their conventional armed forces for

military tasks conductedunder the authority of WEU.

3. Decisions to use military units answerable o WEU will be taken by the

WEU Council in accordancewith the provisionsof the UN Charter. Participation

in specific operations will remain a sovereign decision of member States in

accordancewith national constitutions.

4. Apart from contributing o the commondefence n accordancewith Article

5 of the Washington Treaty and Article V of the modified Brussels Treaty

respectively, military units of WEU memberStates,acting under the authority

of WEU, could be employed or:

- humanitarian and rescue asks;

- peacekeeping asks;

- tasks of combat forces n crisis management,ncluding peacemaking.

5. The planning andexecutionof these askswill be fully compatiblewith the

military dispositions necessaryo ensure he collective defenceof all Allies.

6. Military units will be drawn from the forces of WEU member States,

including forces with NATO missions

-

n this caseafter consultationwith NATO

- and will be organizedon a multinational and multi-service basis.

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7. All WEU memberStateswill soondesignatewhich of their military units

and headquartershey would be willing to makeavailable o WEU for its various

possible asks. Where multinational formationsdrawn from the forces of WEU

nations already exist or are planned, heseunits could be madeavailable for use

under the authority of WEU, with agreement f all participating nations.

8. WEU member States ntend to develop and exercise the appropriate

capabilities o enable he deploymentof WEU military units by land, sea or air

to accomplish hese asks.

9. A Planning Cell will be established n I October 1992, subject o practical

considerations, under the authority of the Council. It will be located with the

Secretariat-General n a suitable building in Brussels. The Council has today

appointed Maj.Gen. Caltabiano (Italian Air Force) as its first Director. The

Planning Cell will be responsible or:

-

preparing contingency plans for the employment for forces under WEU

auspIces;

- preparing recommendations for the necessary command, control and

communication arrangements, ncluding standing operating procedures for

headquarterswhich might be selected; keepingan updatedist of units and

combinations of units which might be allocated to WEU for specific

operations.

10.

Cell

The Council of Ministers approved he tenDS f reference or the Planning

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ON RELA nONS BETWEEN WEU AND THE OrnER EUROPEAN

MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION OR rnE

ATLANTIC AI 'lANCE

m.

A. Following the Declaration eleasedn Maastrichton 10 December 1991 n

connection with the Treaty on EuropeanUnion, WEU Ministers recalled the

fundamentalprinciples on which relationsbetweenmemberStatesand associate

member Statesshould be based:

- settlementof their mutual differencesby peacefulmeans, n accordancewith

the obligations resulting rom the modified BrusselsTreaty, the North Atlantic

Treaty and the United Nations Charter, the commitmentsentered nto under

the terms of the Helsinki Final Act and the Paris Charter, and the other

generally recognizedprinciples and rules of international aw.

- in their mutual relations, refraining from resorting to the threat or use of

force, in accordancewith the United Nations Charter.

They also stressed hat the security guarantees nd defencecommitments

in the Treaties which bind the memberStateswithin Western European U mon

and which bind them within the Atlantic Alliance are mutually reinforcing and

will not be invoked by thosesubscribing o Part m of the Peters erg Declaration

in disputesbetween memberStatesof either of the two organizations.

B. In their Maastricht Declarationof 10 December1991, the member States

of WEU proposed that Stateswhich are membersof the European U Dion be

invited to accede o WEU on conditions o be agreed n accordancewith Article

XI of the modified BrusselsTreaty, or to beCome bservers f they so wished.

Simultaneously,other EuropeanmemberStatesof NATO were nvited to become

associatemembers of WEU in a way which would give them a possibility of

participating fully in the activities of WEU.

In accordancewith Part III of the PetersbergDeclaration, Ministers agreed

that the following points should be made in extending the invitation to the

countries nterested n becomingmembers,observersor associatemembers:

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Members:

Member Statesof the EuropeanUnion which have accepted he invitation

to accede o WEU undertake

to respect, in accordancewith the principles and values adhered to by all

WEU member States, he BrusselsTreaty of 1948, modified on 23 October

1954, ts Protocolsand associatedexts, and he agreements oncludedamong

the member Statespursuant o the Treaty,

to note with approval the agreements, decisions and rules adopted in

conformity with the Treaty, and the Declarations starting with the Rome

Declaration of 27 October 1984,

to develop WEU as the defencecomponent f the EuropeanUnion and as the

means o strengthen he Europeanpillar of the Atlantic Alliance in keeping

with the obligation entered nto on 10 December1991 n the Declaration on

the role of WEU and its relations with the European Union and with the

Atlantic Alliance attached o the Treaty on EuropeanUnion, and

to accept n full the substance f Part ll of the PetersbergDeclaration which

will forIn part of the Protocol of Accession.

Observers:

Member States of the EuropeanUnion, which have accepted he invitation to

becomeobservers,

may, although not being a party to the MBT, attend he meetingsof the WEU

Council without prejudice to the provisions aid down in Article VllI of the

modified BrusselsTreaty; at the requestof a majority of the member States,

or of half of the memberStates ncluding the Presidency,presenceat Council

meetingsmay be restricted o full members;

may be invited to meetingsof working groups;

may be invited, on request, o speak;

will have he same ights and responsibilitiesas he full members or functions

transferred to WEU from other fora and institutions to which they already

belong.

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Associate members:

Other European member States of the Atlantic Alliance which have

accepted he nvitation to becomeassociatemembers f WEU, although not being

parties to the modified BrusselsTreaty, may participate ully in the meetingsof

the WEU Council

- withoutprejudice o the provisionsaid down n Article vm

of the modified BrusselsTreaty - of its working groups and of the subsidiary

bodies, subject o the following provisions:

at the request of a majority of the memberStates,or of half of the member

States including the Presidency, participation may be restricted to full

members;

they will be able to be associatedo the Planning Cell through a permanent

liaison arrangement;

they will have the same rights and responsibilitiesas the full members for

functions transferred o WEU from other fora and institutions to which they

already belong;

they will have the right to speak but may not block a decision that is the

subject of consensus mong he memberStates;

they may associatehemselveswith the decisions akenby memberStates; hey

will be able to participate in their implementationunless a majority of the

memberStates,or half of the memberStates ncluding the Presidency,decide

otherwise;

they will take part on the same basis as full members n WEU military

operations o which they commit forces;

they will accept n full the substance f SectionA of Part III of the Petersberg

Declaration which will form part of the associationdocument;

they will be connected o the member States' telecommunicationssystem

(WEUCOM) for messages oncerningmeetingsand activities in which they

participate;

they will be asked to make a financial contribution to the Organization's

budgets.

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Space activities

For practical reasons, space activities will be restricted to the present

membersuntil the end of the experimentalphaseof the Satellite Centre in 1995.

During this phase he new membersand associatememberswill be kept informed

of WEU's spaceactivities. Appropriate arrangements ill be made or associate

members to participate in subsequentspace activities at the same time as

decisionsare taken on the continuationof such activities.

Mandate

C. Ministersmandatedhe Permanent ouncil o arrange or discussionso

start with the States oncerned.

Ministers confirmed their wish to conclude the necessaryagreements

before 31 December 1992.

.