Helsinki Headline Goal - Headline Goal 2010

Headline Goal 2010

As the Helsinki Headline Goal became fulfilled, the European Council of June 2004 approved to further develop the EU’s military crisis management capability and a new target was set: the "Headline Goal 2010". EU members made the commitment that by the year 2010, at the latest, they would be capable of responding "with swift and decisive action applying a fully coherent approach" to the whole spectrum of crisis management operations covered by the Treaty of the EU and the 2003 EU Security Strategy (i.e. humanitarian and rescue tasks, disarmament operations, support to third countries in combating terrorism, peacekeeping tasks and tasks of combat forces in crisis management, and peacemaking). The EU also aims to address the shortfalls from the previous headline goal (e.g. gaps related to strategic airlift and sealift) which are still considered to be a limiting factor to the operability of the designated forces, especially in more demanding crisis management operations.