Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

That is the way it is going. I am describing the trend.

Battle groups were not discussed but Europe's readiness to deal with humanitarian matters under the Petersberg tasks remains a major issue. Kofi Annan made it clear that the only way to deal with conflicts is to have groups that can take action on a regional basis. He is pressing hard that people engage in this and commit to it. We are examining our situation. One way or another, the maximum number of people we can afford to have abroad is less than 1,000 at approximately 880 or 890. We have those commitments already and even if we did not, it would not add to the forces in a major way. We will reach a conclusion. Battle groups are necessary to deal with the type of humanitarian issues that have happened before and will happen again.

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