khj


The police outside the Crowne Plaza Prague, where the venue is located, are heavily guarded. (yellow frequency photography)



The venue of the informal meeting of EU defense ministers. (yellow frequency photography)



Solana, Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, entered the venue. (yellow frequency photography)


　　BEIJING, Prague, March 13 (Xinhua) The two-day informal meeting of EU defense ministers began on the 12th at the Crowne Plaza Prague, which is closely guarded by the military and police. It is said that on the first day of the meeting, the defense chiefs focused on NATO’s peacekeeping operations in Chad, Central Africa, Bosnia and Herzegovina and military operations against Somali pirates.


　　Javier Solana, Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, jaap de hoop scheffer, Secretary-General of NATO, and other senior officials from the EU and NATO attended the meeting and took part in the celebration of the 10th anniversary of joining NATO in the Czech Republic.


　　The EU will hand over peacekeeping tasks in Chad and Central Africa to the United Nations.


　　Patrick Nash, the Irish general who commanded the EU peacekeeping mission in Chad and Central Africa, told reporters that "the peacekeeping operation is basically successful, but it has not been completely completed. We must hand in the task on Sunday (15th). "


　　On January 28th, 2008, the European Union announced that it would send 3,200 soldiers from 14 member countries to Chad and Central Africa to protect the refugees who were made homeless by the war. In January this year, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution to send 5,200 peacekeepers to those two countries to replace the EU troops.


　　Satisfied with the Atalanta operation, but will not strengthen its strength.


　　The EU is satisfied with the anti-Somali piracy operation codenamed Atalanta, which was deployed at the end of last year. It is also the first maritime military operation in the EU’s history, and at most, six warships and three fighter planes were dispatched.


　　Solana commented: "We have taken a lot of actions, and the number of pirates has decreased, moving back to the south. We will continue to act. " However, there are signs that the EU will not further strengthen the military strength of this operation. The EU originally took over the work from NATO, and NATO is now ready to resume its operations.


　　The meeting will discuss and solve relevant legal problems in anti-piracy operations. Captured pirates must be handed over to local officials for trial. The relevant treaties have only been signed with Kenya, and similar treaties are being negotiated with other countries.


　　Peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina will be adjusted.


　　It is reported that the EU will discuss with Bosnia and Herzegovina’s defense minister to revise the plan in line with the current situation. A Czech official who knows about the relevant negotiations said that its progress will depend on the Bosnia and Herzegovina authorities’ ability to shoulder their own people’s security responsibilities alone.


　　At the beginning of December, 2004, the European Union’s multinational stabilization force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUFOR) replaced NATO forces (SFOR) to carry out the peacekeeping operation codenamed Althea in Bosnia and Herzegovina.