This is an important time for the Western European Union, which is being developed to take on the tasks defined in the 1992 Petersburg declaration - humanitarian crises, disaster relief, Peacekeeping and Other Crisis management missions.

In the Western European Union, and in particular during the United Kingdom's six-month presidency of WEU, which began on 1 January this year, we have pursued a number of initiatives, including the establishment of a situation centre and introduction of a progressive exercise programme with the aim of strengthening the WEU's capability to mount and control certain humanitarian and rescue, Peacekeeping and Other Crisis management tasks.