In Gothenburg, first news from the informal meeting of Defense Ministers

(BRUSSELS2 / In Gothenburg) Located in the port district of Gothenburg, Eriksberg, the informal meeting of Defense Ministers under the chairmanship of the Swedish, has started. Clear, modern buildings, neat aesthetics, wireless system that works perfectly... what more could you ask for. Moreover, a Belgian delegation came specially to observe the system put in place to prepare to organize the informal Defense which will take place under the Belgian presidency, in Ghent. “We will have to increase the planned budget if we want to be up to it” one commented. For the Ministers who arrive, it is an opportunity, at the entrance or during the breaks, to mark their center of concern.

Royal presence. Several Ministers did not make the trip : the German Jung (because of the electoral defeat of the SPD), the Frenchman Morin (who went to Afghanistan to pay tribute to the fallen soldiers this weekend and assure the wounded of his solidarity). On the other hand, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden is there (photo) and is not content to come and shake a few hands or give an inauguration speech. She sits quietly behind the Minister of Defense on a common plastic chair (as found in any meeting room), pulls out her notebook, and dutifully takes note of what the Minister says.

Minister Tolgfors opens the discussion, in the background (right) Princess Victoria of Sweden (cop. NGV)

Iran, Afghanistan, Missiles....
• For the High Representative, Javier Solana - for whom this is normally one of the last ministerial meetings (read about its possible extension) - it is Iran - with its nuclear and missile launch projects - that worries him properly, and he declares it as soon as he arrives when he is questioned by the journalists. As for the revision of the strategy in Afghanistan, he is not very verbose "We can't make a decision at the moment. We will see after the election results,” He explains.
• Afghanistan is however on everyone's lips. And the majority of questions from journalists go in this direction. The Danish minister, Søren Gade, cannot help but point out that with more than 800 soldiers on site, the kingdom of the little mermaid cannot really do more. Whether “everyone did in proportion to their population like Denmark, there would not really be a staffing problem he explains (27 Danes have already been killed). See also his remarks on the lifting of the Danish opt-out on defence.
• For the Polish Defense Minister, Bogdan Klich, the news revolves more around the new American proposal for revise the anti-missile shield to install " SM3 (medium-range) missiles in Poland (by 2015) is excellent he explains. “It is much better adjusted to the threats, to our real risks».

Maritime surveillance. The Swedish want to make progress on maritime surveillance.
In support of a demonstration, the Swedish specialists explained to the Ministers, then to the press and to the military experts, how much the Baltic surveillance system set up by the Swedes in the Baltic with the neighboring countries (Baltic, Nordic, German , Polish) was effective. As the Minister says Stan Tolgfors, who are " there is no need to create a new system or a new organization, it is enough to share information, to have a database and a network and to link the various existing national centres. This
not cost more ". See detailed article.

NB: During the meeting, I inaugurate a new mode of faster information on Twitter. Patience, I'm running in -:)