HELSINKI, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- The growing role of the European Union as a maritime security provider was discussed by EU defense ministers in Helsinki on Thursday.
Talking to the media, Frededrika Mogherini, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said the EU sees a growing role in maritime security not only in Europe, but further away, in the Indian ocean and Asia-Pacific.
The EU is considering a system called "coordinated maritime presence", and Mogherini described the new concept as "an additional tool" based on the use of national naval assets that remain in national command.
With the system, information and analysis could be shared. It would promote international cooperation at sea and with the coastal countries. Mogherini said the system would not substitute but complement traditional military operations.
Mogherini mentioned both strategic rivalries as well as organized crime and piracy as threats.
Finnish Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen noted that Finland is very interested in the maritime development as "Finland is highly dependent on maritime connections".
Kaikkonen said the informal meeting of EU member countries' defense ministers in Helsinki has a future oriented agenda. "The EU needs to react quickly to new challenges and to stand together."
On the eve of the meeting, the ministers met with leaders of the tech industries and civic society.
As emerging challenges, the ministers reviewed the impact of artificial intelligence on defense. They discussed lethal autonomous weapon systems and whether there is need for standards and regulations to ensure their usage within international law and under control of a human being.
"The ministers saw that the European Union and European states have a role in creating some kind of consensus on this issue," Mogherini said.
Discussing the climate change, the ministers acknowledged the need for the military to be climate friendly through reducing operational energy dependence and carbon footprint. The climate change is also impacting the operational conditions for warfare.
Mogherini noted that the EU was one of the first in seeing the climate change as a security issue.
Discussions in Helsinki also covered hybrid threats and the need to invest more in common tools. Mogherini cited the Helsinki center for tackling hybrid threats as an excellent example of cooperation between the EU and NATO.
Responding to a question about the development towards peace in Afghanistan, Mogherini said that the European Union has been in active contact with parties in the region.
Mogherini mentioned as priorities "the preservation of the achievements in Afghanistan" so far, such as the rights of women. She underlined that the European Union has not had any military presence in Afghanistan, but some member states are there through NATO.
