Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 98: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if, in view of the discomfort he expressed at the term "battlegroup" at a recent meeting of the Forum on Europe, he has held discussions with the United Nations' General Secretary and other high ranking officials in the UN regarding any suggested regional rapid reaction force; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18483/05]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The term "battlegroups" is a widely used military one. It essentially refers to effective military units that are capable of stand-alone rapid response operations. Unfortunately, the use of the term can create a misleading impression of what the European Union is actually seeking to achieve in facilitating the establishment of stand-alone units to respond in crisis management contexts. I consider that the term, "rapid response elements", by which battlegroups are also known, reflects more accurately the role these units are intended to fulfil.

The value and importance of rapid response elements for dealing with crises at the request of the United Nations has been strongly emphasised by the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan. They could provide valuable support to the UN in crisis management and be used to respond to situations similar to the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2003 where the deployment of an EU force contributed greatly to restoring stability and thereby alleviating a situation of great humanitarian distress.

The EU and the United Nations are natural partners in the field of peacekeeping and crisis management. The UN is increasingly looking to regional organisations, such as the European Union and the African Union, to take on peacekeeping missions. Such missions, while mandated or authorised by the UN Security Council, would be carried out by the regional organisations themselves. This development was highlighted by Kofi Annan during his visit to Dublin in October 2004 and has been the subject of discussion between the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the UN Secretary General.

In his recent report on UN reform entitled, In Larger Freedom, Kofi Annan particularly noted the decision by the European Union to create standby battlegroups as a very valuable contribution to the efforts of the United Nations in this area. Overall, he welcomed the development of regional rapid reaction capability and called for greater co-operation between regional organisations and the United Nations.