’’There are three aspects of what we are doing to solve the crisis in Libya: evacuation, coordination and collaboration.” Catherine Ashton High representative of the EU for foreign affairs and security policy said at the informal meeting of defence ministers in Gödöllő, Hungary.

The unrest in Libya dominated the informal meeting of EU defence ministers held in Budapest and Gödöllő on 24 and 25 February. At the informal meeting chaired by High representative Catherine Ashton not only EU common defence and security policy and European Union’s military operations but also the Libyan situation was high on the agenda.

On Thursday during the working dinner held at the Museum of Fine Arts the ministers were informed about the situation in Libya and in the Ivory Coast. Member states exchanged views on the ongoing military operations in the Horn of Africa and Bosnia-Herzegovina. ATALANTA operation, EUTM Somalia mission and the future of EUFOR Althea operation have also been discussed.

The Friday meeting was held at the Royal Palace of Gödöllő. During the meeting defence ministers focused on the development of military capabilities, supporting EU’s common defence and security policy, giving particular attention to pooling and sharing the military assets in the face of defence spending cuts.

Another topic was the European External Action Service -- a new diplomatic service under the Lisbon Treaty that serves as foreign ministry and diplomatic corps for the EU and implements common foreign and security policy. During the working sessions EU partnerships with the UN and NATO have also been discussed.

NATO Secretary of State, Anders Fogh  Rasmussen, who also attended the meeting, talked about the concept of ’smart defence’, focusing on strengthening common assets. “Instead of spreading thinly our resources across the board, we should identify critical capabilities and then invest heavily in these capabilities,” Rasmussen said.

During the press conference held after the meeting, High Representative Catherine Ashton emphasized that there are three aspects of what the EU is doing to solve the crisis in Libya:’’first of all the evacuation, secondly the coordination of what the EU can do to put pressure on the situation in Libya to stop the violence and thirdly the collaboration internationally, particularly with the Security Council, to ensure that we have a coordinated approach.”

(Dora Darnyik, Ministry of Defence)