On 13 November 2006, defence ministers gave only an amber light to the recent request by NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer for the EU to build up the police force in Afghanistan, to support of the 30,000 NATO troops already present.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said: "The EU stands ready to do even more to contribute to the collective effort and I think that a police operation could be of great value. We could send a fact-finding mission to study the conditions under which the operation could take place."
The push for the EU to commit was led by UK and the Netherlands. Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot argued that the EU was already training police in Iraq: "We can take a greater role with the EU. That can take many forms, either financial, training troops, aid missions. There are all sorts of things that the EU can contribute," Bot said. France, however was hesitant: "It seems to me that before launching into such an operation, it would be a good idea to be a bit more clear and to not do something is not coherent or logical. That is why I gave my agreement to a fact-finding mission and that's all for the moment," said French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie
