COPENHAGEN, 16 December 2002 — The European Union will start its first ever military operations within “weeks”, the French President Jacques Chirac said this weekend, after two years of deadlock over EU relations with NATO were finally broken.

Speaking at the end of the European summit in Copenhagen, Chirac said the EU could start work “immediately” on taking over peace-keeping duties in Macedonia.

“It’s not a complicated operation,” the French president said, “it can be done very quickly in the weeks that follow.” Europe is due to have its 60,000-strong rapid reaction force capable of peace-keeping and crisis management operations up and running in 2003, but the project has been stalled amid diplomatic wrangling. The deal between the EU and NATO clinched at Copenhagen gives the embryonic European force guaranteed access to the planning resources of the transatlantic military alliance.

This type of agreement had been held up since 2000 by Turkey, which is a big player in NATO, and which feared that the EU force might be used against its interests.

At Copenhagen those concerns were finally allayed when Ankara won a pledge that EU crisis management operations would be open only to EU states that are NATO allies or partners — thereby excluding Malta and the divided island of Cyprus.

That rules out the possibility of the EU rapid reaction force being deployed in support of the ethnic Greek government of Cyprus, one of 10 candidates that will be admitted to the EU in 2004.

EU leaders also decided that Ankara should be able to start talks on joining the EU “without delay” if it passes a human rights review in December 2004.

The removal of Turkey’s long-standing veto will bring about an exchange of letters between the EU foreign policy chief, Javier Solana and the NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, leading to a ceremony this week.

Yves Brodeur, NATO’s chief spokesman, said: “EU access to NATO planning capabilities able to contribute to military planning for EU-led operations is now assured, effective immediately”.

While the deal is good news for architects of the EU’s planned rapid reaction force of 60,000 soldiers, skeptics say that the hard work is only just starting. Under pressure to control their budgets European capitals have been unwilling to invest in the cash needed to bring the EU’s military plans up to scratch. (The Independent)