First test for new European army

Lieutenant Tsialikis Asterios, a Greek soldier on patrol in the village of Bukovic, is evidently proud of Concordia. "I like this work. It is stressful because we are always at risk, but I would fight a war for the European Union, if necessary," he says. "The EU is much closer to our hearts as citizens of Europe than NATO, which is often seen as a representative of the United States."

The force brings together troops from 26 nations, half of them EU members. Six of the participants are non-EU members of NATO, including Turkey - but the force does not include the US.

Despite Concordia's small size, political and military analysts have been watching it closely. The European Parliament has approved the concept of a rapid-reaction force of 70,000 troops and a pan-European military, which may eventually number in the hundreds of thousands. Concordia is its first concrete move and, with the US progressively withdrawing from traditional European bases and EU-US relations on a roller-coaster, the stakes couldn't be higher.

"Especially after the Iraq war, the EU has splintered between the French Continental camp and the British trans- Atlantic camp," says Sam Vaknin, a regional analyst. "The French camp hopes the EU military will serve as a counterweight to US hegemony. The British are terrified that this could damage their transAtlantic alliance."

Publicly, US officials have expressed cautious optimism about the EU taking a larger role in regional security, but privately diplomats admit that the US is skeptical of the EU's ability to handle military forces and would not welcome the emergence of a large European military. Critics of EUFOR have questioned the EU's military capacity. For example, the planned rapid-reaction force has been delayed due to lack of air-transport capacity among member states.

"It is true that EUFOR has coordinated the mission in Macedonia perfectly, but this is the military equivalent of homework for the first grade,"says Stevo Pendarovski, a Macedonian security adviser. "We are going to declare Concordia a success, of course, but it is a relative success because this was a relatively easy mission. In my view, the mission in Bosnia is too big for the EU to swallow at this point. They have very little in terms of air lift and transport capabilities, and they rely heavily on NATO for intelligence."

Under an agreement signed at the end of last year, EUFOR has access to NATO intelligence and technology. While a Greek force is constantly on call to reinforce Concordia within a matter of hours, NATO troops in Kosovo can also provide back up in emergencies. The agreement, known as Berlin Plus, allows EU members to participate in both NATO and EUFOR without duplicating their efforts and gives the US a voice.

But the EU has already begun to step out from under NATO's shadow with a three-month military mission this summer in the Republic of Congo. This second EU mission did not depend on NATO help, but analysts say traditionally pacifist Europe will have to quadruple its military spending if it ever hopes to rival the US militarily.

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