Paris, 4 December – The WEU Assembly has urged the European Union to play an active military part in the international fight against terrorism.
 
A resolution in a political committee report by Jim Marshall (United Kingdom/Soc), which was adopted Monday, said that the Council should call for the European Union to give a “clear priority” to “implementing the military aspects of crisis management under the ESDP (European Security and Defence Policy)” and that the WEU should support Belgium’s initiative on a White Paper on security by contributing a paper on “countering the threat that international terrorism poses for collective defence.”
 
One important task facing the EU is to ensure the ESDP does not follow the WEU example in “standing ever ready, never to be called on,” the report said. Even if it had been ready, the ESDP would probably not have participated in military action in Afghanistan, it added.
 
A number of delegates took the floor to comment on the report, which is entitled ‘Europe’s security and defence policy confronted with international terrorism-reply to the annual report of the Council.’ 
 
Marco Zacchera (Italy/Fed) said that the Assembly should go beyond approving the report by asking governments to take “concrete action.” Europe has maintained a “deafening silence”  over the situation in Israel, and parliaments should encourage governments to do in managing the crisis, he added.