A New Gear in the CFSP Machinery: Integration of the Petersberg Tasks in the Treaty on European Union

1 The Notion of Petersberg Operations

In the early 1990s the tasks of conflict management and peace-keeping, which once appeared to belong exclusively to the United Nations, became an area of growing interest for regional security organizations. This trend derived from both a stronger demand for mechanisms of crisis prevention and management and from the will to revitalize these organizations in the post-Cold War security environment.

In June 1992, NATO Foreign Ministers, at the Ministerial Meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Oslo, announced the Organization's willingness to support peace-keeping activities.² In July 1992, the Helsinki Document provided the framework for the commitment of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) to peace-keeping.³

During the same period, the Member States of the European Communities initiated a process of establishing more appropriate instruments for cooperation in foreign and defence policy. In February 1992, the Treaty on European Union (TEU) was concluded and its Title V on Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) suggested a stronger role for the European Union (EU) in international security matters. Under Article J.4 of the Treaty, the Western European Union (WEU), described as `an integral part of the development of the Union', was called on `to elaborate and implement decisions and actions of the Union which have defence implications'.⁴

In June 1992, WEU Foreign and Defence Ministers met in Bonn to develop the role of WEU as the defence component of the EU, to strengthen its operational capacity and to define the relations between the WEU and non-member states. In the final document, the Petersberg Declaration,⁵ the Council of Ministers agreed to expand WEU functions in order to include the planning and execution of a range of peace-related operations. Part II, para. 4 of the Declaration, entitled `On Strengthening WEU's Operational Role', announced:

Apart from contributing to the common defence in accordance with Article 5 of the Washington Treaty and Article V of the modified Brussels Treaty respectively, military units of WEU member States, acting under the authority of WEU, could be employed for:

- Humanitarian and rescue tasks;

- Peace-keeping tasks;

- Tasks of combat forces in crisis management, including peacemaking.

These tasks have since become known as Petersberg operations or tasks.⁶ The Declaration concisely defined the legal framework and procedures for their implementation. It stated that decisions to carry out WEU operations would be taken by the WEU Council of Ministers in accordance with the provisions of the United Nations Charter.

In the following years, the performance of the WEU in framing and implementing Petersberg tasks has been judged disappointing. Its activities have been limited to civilian police exercises, such as the missions to the city of Mostar within the European Union Administration of Mostar,⁷ and to Albania as the Multinational Advisory Police Element.⁸ The functioning and results of the CFSP have similarly been the subject of considerable criticism and have largely been considered ineffective. Particularly unsatisfactory has been the implementation of Article J.4 TEU.⁹

2 `Final Communiqué of the Ministerial Meeting of the North Atlantic Council', Oslo, 4 June 1992.

3 The Declaration and Decisions of the Helsinki Summit, 10 July 1992, are reproduced in 31 ILM (1992) 1385.

4 On the security and defence implications of the Treaty on the European Union see Morgan, `How Common Will Foreign and Security Policies Be?', in R. Dehousee (ed.), Europe after Maastricht. An Ever Closer Union? (1994) 189, at 192; J. Cloos, G. Reinesch, D. Vignes and J. Weyland, Le Traité de Maastricht. Genèse, analyse, commentaires (1994) 468, 481.

5 WEU Council of Ministers, `Petersberg Declaration', Bonn, 19 June 1992.

6 Vierucci, `The Role of Western European Union (WEU) in the Maintenance of International Peace and Security', 2 International Peacekeeping (1995) 309; Jørgensen, `Western Europe and the Petersberg Tasks', in K. E. Jørgensen (ed.), European Approaches to Crisis Management (1997).

7 Pagani, `L'Administration de Mostar par l'Union Européenne', 42 Annuaire français de droit international (1996) 234, at 249; see also Assembly of the Western European Union, WEU Police Forces - Reply to the Annual Report of the Council, Report submitted on behalf of the Defence Committee by Mr. Giannattasio, Rapporteur, 13 May 1998, Part II.

8 Ibid, Part III.

9 See, e.g., European Commission, Report on the Operation of Treaty on European Union, 10 May 1995.

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