” “At the centre of defence policy” “

The European Union. Gathered at Saragozza, in Spain, on 22 and 23 March, for an informal meeting of the Council of the European Union, the Ministers of Defence of the Fifteen unanimously took the decision to use also the second pillar – the one that includes the European Policy of Security and Defence (EPSD) – in the campaign against international terrorism. The Spanish Minister Federico Trillo supported the position – included among the priorities of the Spanish Presidency – aimed at turning the campaign against terrorism into one of the EPSD’s main objectives. He gave advance notice of the presentation to the Convention on the future of Europe of a series of legislative proposals for the incorporation in the Treaties of provisions that would permit the organization of joint European military missions to combat terrorist activities. The practical measures requested of the Council by the Ministers of Defence with immediate effect are four: improved cooperation between the military secret services of member states; coordination of the systems of protection against weapons of mass destruction (nuclear, bacteriological, chemical); enforcement of the new legislation on the single European sky to reinforce air security; and improved protection of military forces employed in humanitarian missions. The Fifteen plan to approve the conclusions of the informal summit at the next European Council in Seville, scheduled for 21 and 22 June. The Council of Europe. The parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the interparliamentary Assembly of the Community of Independent States organized a joint conference on the campaign against terrorism, held in St. Petersburg on 27 and 28 March. The conference was opened by Vladimir Putin in the presence, among others, of Peter Schieder, president of the parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, of the vice-president of the European Parliament, Renzo Imbeni, and of the president of the parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Adrian Severin. The conference examined the adaptation and harmonization of existing legislation and the reinforcement of respect for human rights; preventive measures aimed at protecting high-risk plants; the campaign against the funding of terrorist organizations; and the common interests of Russia and NATO in the campaign against terrorism.