The European Council, meeting in Helsinki on 10 and 11 December 1999, agreed in particular that, ‘cooperating voluntarily in Union-led operations, Member States must be able, by 2003, to deploy within 60 days and sustain for at least one year, military forces of up to 50 000 to 60 000 persons capable of the full range of Petersberg tasks’.

On 17 June 2002, the Council approved the arrangements for the financing of Union-led crisis-management operations having military or defence implications.

The Council, in its conclusions of 14 May 2003, confirmed the need for a rapid reaction capability, in particular for humanitarian and rescue tasks.

The European Council, meeting in Thessaloniki on 19 and 20 June 2003, welcomed the conclusions of the Council meeting on 19 May 2003, which in particular confirmed the need for a Union military rapid reaction capability.

On 22 September 2003, the Council decided that the Union should acquire the capacity to flexibly manage the financing of common costs of military operations of any scale, complexity or urgency, in particular by setting up, by 1 March 2004 at the latest, a permanent financing mechanism to assume charge of the financing of common costs of any future Union military operation.

On 23 February 2004, the Council adopted Decision 2004/197/CFSP1 establishing a mechanism to administer the financing of the common costs of Union operations having military or defence implications. That Decision has subsequently been amended and replaced several times, most recently by Council Decision 2011/871/CFSP2.

The Union is capable of conducting military rapid response operations in accordance with the concept defined by the EU Military Committee. The Union is capable of deploying Battle Groups in accordance with the concept defined by the EU Military Committee.

The scheme for early financing is intended first and foremost for rapid response operations.

Exercises at the political and military strategic level of the command and control structures and procedures for Union military operations through Union headquarters exercises, as approved by the Political and Security Committee (PSC), contribute to enhancing the Union's overall operational readiness.

The Council decides on a case-by-case basis whether an operation has military or defence implications, within the meaning of Article 41(2) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU).

The second subparagraph of Article 41(2) of the TEU provides that Member States whose representatives in the Council have made a formal declaration pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 31(1) thereof, shall not be obliged to contribute to the financing of the operation having military or defence implications concerned.

In accordance with Article 5 of the Protocol No 22 on the position of Denmark annexed to the TEU and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Denmark does not participate in the elaboration and implementation of decisions and actions of the Union which have defence implications. Denmark does not participate in this decision and therefore does not participate in the financing of the mechanism.

Provisions should be adopted to ensure that Athena protects individuals with regard to the processing of their personal data.

Pursuant to Article 43 of Decision 2011/871/CFSP, the Council has reviewed that Decision and agreed to amend it.

For the sake of clarity, Decision 2011/871/CFSP should be repealed and replaced by a new Decision,