EU CRISIS-MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS CENTRE SET TO BE UP AND RUNNING 'BY SEPTEMBER'.

The creation of an 'operations centre' giving the EU the ability to plan and run crisis-management operations has been delayed by several months because of logistical problems but should be achieved by late summer, according to General Jean-Paul Perruche, the Director of the EU's Military Staff. The centre was supposed to be set up by the start of 2006. Appearing before the European Parliament's Sub-Committee on Security and Defence on February 21, General Perruche admitted that there had been osome infrastructure difficultieso involved in installing the new centre in the Cortenbergh building foreseen to be its Brussels home. But he indicated that the centre was currently being developed and should be...