The Government wishes to offer a contingent of up to 150 soldiers to participate in a Swedish led rapid reaction force which is to be made available to the EU from 2008. Sweden and Finland have expressed a wish for Norwegian participation in a Nordic rapid reaction force and the United Kingdom supports the inclusion of Norway in such a group. It is, however, a clear precondition for Norway’s participation that the decision to take part in an operation should be endorsed at national level, that Norwegian personnel are under national command and that the mandate for the operation clearly complies with international law. The matter will be discussed at the meeting of EU defence ministers to be held in Brussels on 22 November.

Based on an initiative launched in February this year by the United Kingdom, France and Germany, the EU is in the process of setting up 7-9 “battlegroups”. These will each consist of about 1,500 personnel, available for deployment at very short notice in response to any developing crisis. These forces will be closely linked with the UN and can therefore be regarded as underpinning the UN’s conflict prevention capability.

Sweden and Finland wish to establish a Nordic rapid reaction force with Norwegian participation, and the United Kingdom defence minister has expressed strong support for such participation by Norway. The United Kingdom has also offered military headquarters support for such a group.

“Norwegian participation in these forces would represent a natural extension of our support for the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy. We have already taken part in the EU’s military operation in Macedonia, we plan to play a part in the EU operation ALTHEA in Bosnia and, since 2000, we have declared a substantial number of Norwegian soldiers to the EU force register. The EU member countries have reached agreement on a framework governing the participation of third-party countries in EU operations, something that makes it possible for Norway to play a part in this concept. The framework gives Norway rights with regard to the planning and execution of EU operations in which we are participating,” says Defence Minister Kristin Krohn Devold.

“There are also other reasons why the Government is in favour of Norwegian participation,” says Kristin Krohn Devold. The EU has, by this means, found an effective way of providing support for the UN’s crisis management capability, an aim which Norway shares. The fact that the forces concerned will undergo extensive training and exercising will also improve the ability of forces from different European countries to operate together.

Norwegian participation in a Nordic rapid reaction force is a natural extension of the Nordic cooperation already seen in peace operations, including the NATO operations in Kosovo and Afghanistan. This can only strengthen Nordic cooperation in the field of defence and security policy.

It is a clear precondition for Norway’s participation that the decision to take part in an operation should be taken at national level. A further precondition is that Norway should have a say in the planning of the operations and that the Norwegian force should be under national control. The mandate for the operation must also be clearly based in international law. From the Norwegian side, it is firmly assumed that the EU’s work in the areas of security and defence policy takes place with the full understanding of NATO, and that the establishment of the EU’s battlegroups does not undermine or duplicate the function of the NATO Response Force (NRF), but that, on the contrary, this work will serve to strengthen the European countries’ capacity to engage in crisis management operations led by NATO or the EU.

“Norway cannot isolate itself from what happens in Europe, even though we may not be members of the EU. On the contrary, what happens in Europe affects us to a very great extent indeed. The Government’s aim is to conduct an active European policy. Norwegian participation in the collaboration on European rapid reaction forces provides a natural way of furthering the current operational cooperation with other European countries. The fact that, by participating, we are helping to support the UN gives us an even greater reason to do so. The alternative would be to remain on the sidelines as passive spectators while watching European security policy cooperation take shape without us,” says Defence Minister Kristin Krohn Devold.