CSDP Structure, Instruments and Agencies

Structure, Instruments and Agencies

In order to enable the European Union fully to assume its responsabilities for crisis management, the European Council (Nice, December 2000) decided to establish permanent political and military structures.

These structures are:

The Political and Security Committee (PSC) meets at the ambassadorial level as a preparatory body for the Council of the EU. Its main functions are keeping track of the international situation, and helping to define policies within the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) including the CSDP. It prepares a coherent EU response to a crisis and exercises its political control and strategic direction.

The European Union Military Committee(EUMC) is the highest military body set up within the Council. It is composed of the Chiefs of Defence of the Member States, who are regularly represented by their permanent military representatives. The EUMC provides the PSC with advice and recommendations on all military matters within the EU.

In parallel with the EUMC, the PSC is advised by a Committee for Civilian Aspects of Crisis Management (CIVCOM). This committee provides information, drafts recommendations, and gives its opinion to the PSC on civilian aspects of crisis management.

The Crisis Management and Planning Directorate(CMPD) contributes to the objectives of the European External Action Service, the EU Common Security and Defence Policy and a more secure international environment by the political-strategic planning of CSDP civilian missions and military operations, ensuring coherence and effectiveness of those actions as part of the EU comprehensive approach to crisis management and developing CSDP partnerships, policies, concepts and capabilities.

The European Union Military Staff (EUMS) - working under the direction of the EU Military Committee (EUMC) and under the authority of the High Representative/Vice President (HR/VP) - is the source of collective (multi-disciplinary) military expertise within the European External Action Service (EEAS). As an integral component of the EEAS’s Comprehensive Approach, the EUMS coordinates the military instrument, with particular focus on operations/missions (both military and those requiring military support) and the creation of military capability. Enabling activity in support of this output includes: early warning (via the Single Intelligence Analysis Capacity - SIAC), situation assessment, strategic planning, Communications and Information Systems, concept development, training and education, and support of partnerships through military-military relationships. Concurrently, the EUMS is charged with sustaining the EU OPSCEN and providing its core staff when activated.

The Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability(CPCC), which is part of the EEAS, is the permanent structure responsible for an autonomous operational conduct of civilian CSDP operations. Under the political control and strategic direction of the Political and Security Committee and the overall authority of the High Representative, the CPCC ensures the effective planning and conduct of civilian CSDP crisis management operations, as well as the proper implementation of all mission-related tasks.

Key documents:

COUNCIL DECISION of 22 January 2001
setting up the Political and Security Committee 

COUNCIL DECISION of 22 January 2001
setting up the Military Committee of the European Union 

COUNCIL DECISION of 10 May 2005
on the establishment of the Military Staff of the European Union 

source: http://www.eeas.europa.eu/csdp/

Official Journal of the European Union

Official Journal of the European Union

EU Bookshop

An online bookshop and archive of publications from the European institutions. It is managed by the Publications Office of the European Union in Luxembourg.

Available in the 24 official languages of the EU - select one from the list at the top right hand corner of the page to navigate the site and find the titles available in that language.

Source: https://bookshop.europa.eu/en/home/

ehest online training portal

https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/eeas/ehest/login/index.php

European Union External Action

The European Union in the world

The European Union plays an important role in international affairs through diplomacy, trade, development aid and working with global organisations.

The Lisbon Treaty (2009) led to major developments in the area of external action, with the creation of the post of High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and the establishment of the EU's diplomatic arm, the European External Action Service (EEAS).

The High Representative – a post currently held by Catherine Ashton – exercises, in foreign affairs, the functions previously held by the six-monthly rotating Presidency, the High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy and the European Commissioner for External Relations.

According to her mandate, the High Representative:    

• conducts the Union's common foreign and security policy;
• contributes by her proposals to the development of that policy, which she carries out as mandated by the Council, and ensures implementation of the decisions adopted;
• presides over the Foreign Affairs Council of Ministers;
• is one of the Vice-Presidents of the Commission and thus ensures the consistency of the Union's external action.
• represents the Union for matters relating to the common foreign and security policy, conducts political dialogue with third parties on the Union's behalf and expresses the Union's position in international fora.
• exercises authority over the European External Action Service and over EU delegations in third countries and at international organisations.

  

The EEAS assists the High Representative in ensuring the consistency and coordination of the Union's external action as well as by preparing policy proposals and implementing them after their approval by the Council. It also assists the President of the European Council and the President as well as the Members of the Commission in their respective functions in the area of external relations and ensures close cooperation with the Member States. The network of EU delegations around the world is part of the EEAS structure.

Here are just some examples of the role the European Union plays around the world: 

• Peace building: Through political, practical and economic support the EU has played a crucial role in peace building in the Western Balkans after the Yugoslav wars. From Bosnia-Herzegovina to Montenegro, the EU has used its power to promote peace and reconciliation. The latest example of this is the dialogue being facilitated by the European Union between Serbia and Kosovo – the "Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue".
• A responsible neighbour: To the east and south of the European Union lie many countries which have in recent years undergone tumultuous political change. The Arab Awakening is just the latest example of this which is why the European Neighbourhood Policy aims to maintain solid and friendly relations with countries that are at the European Union's borders. Promoting democracy, human rights and opening trade and cooperation on visa issues are just some examples of this.
• Development Aid: Did you know that the EU is the largest single donor of development aid? In 2010, the combined total of donations from the EU and member states was €53.8 billion which is making a huge difference to millions of people's livelihoods around the world.
• The EU is member of the Quartet, alongside the United Nations, the United States and Russia, which is working for peace in the Middle East. Resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict is a strategic priority for Europe. The EU’s objective is a two-state solution with an independent, democratic, viable Palestinian state side-by-side with Israel in peace and security.
• The Union is committed to human rights and works to ensure they are respected universally. The EU has made human rights a central aspect of its external relations: in the political dialogues it holds with third countries; through its development policy and assistance; or through its action in multilateral fora, such as the United Nations.
• The Union works closely with the United Nations on a host of issues. The Union’s belief in multilateralism reflects an attachment to negotiated, binding rules in international relations, and is explicitly spelled out in the Treaty of Lisbon.
• Building security around the world: Under the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), the EU operates civilian and military missions worldwide. These missions carry out a variety of tasks from border management to local police training. For example the Operation EUNAVFOR Atalanta off the coast of Somalia tackles piracy and protects humanitarian shipments of the World Food Programme bound for drought hit areas.
• Crisis Response & Humanitarian Aid: Almost half of all international humanitarian relief comes from the European Union and its members. This provides life saving aid in places like the Horn of Africa where famine stalks whole populations. In addition the European Union stands ready to respond in a coordinated way to any international emergency - be it the earthquake in Haiti, tsunami in Japan or flooding in Pakistan. This brings together all the tools the European Union has at its disposal.
• The Union was instrumental in negotiating the Kyoto Protocol on climate changeand, with a domestic low-carbon agenda that is probably the most advanced and sophisticated in the world remains a crucial player on this issue, indispensable for pushing an ambitious agenda of change. The Union is focusing on building a coalition for a legally binding agreement on climate change.
• Trade: The European Union is the world’s largest trading bloc. Trade is a common policy so the EU speaks with a single voice in trade negotiations with international partners in promoting a free and fairer international trading system.
• An enlarging European Union - from 6 to 28: From six countries in 1957 to 28 now, the EU has expanded through the decades – notably after the fall of communism in Central and Eastern Europe. The lure of EU membership and the political and economic stability it brings has meant that many countries aspire to join – although they must first pass tough EU membership tests on democracy and the rule of law to name two.

Source: European Union External Action

CEPOL

CEPOL is a European Union (EU) Agency, established in 2005 (Council Decision 2005/681/JHA of 20 September 2005). CEPOL's mission is to bring together senior police officers from police forces in Europe - essentially to support the development of a network - and encourage cross-border cooperation in the fight against crime, public security and law and order by organising training activities and research findings.

Source: https://www.cepol.europa.eu/

The European Defence Agency is the place to go for European defence cooperation.

The European Defence Agency is the place to go for European defence cooperation. The Agency supports the Council and the Member States in their effort to improve the European Union’s defence capabilities - a critical task in these challenging times.

It works on the basis of a new approach that draws together the whole defence spectrum, tailoring its work to the military needs of tomorrow, providing different and often innovative solutions.

Since its foundation in 2004, the EDA and its participating Member States have launched important projects, boosting helicopter availability, forming the European Air Transport Fleet and working to insert Unmanned Aircraft Systems into normal airspace, to name but a few. For more on our projects, see here.

EDA is pragmatic, cost effective and results oriented. It offers multinational solutions for capability improvement in a time where defence budget constraints foster the need for cooperation.

Learn more about the Agency - who we are, what we do, and how we do it - using the links below.

source: http://www.eda.europa.eu/

Europe's New Training Initiative for Civilian Crisis Management

Europe’s New Training Initiative for Civilian Crisis Management (ENTRi)is a unique capacity-building programme that was initiated in early 2011. The main focus lies on the preparation and training of civilians that are either going to, or already working in, crisis management missions worldwide. Such missions include those of the European Union (EU), the United Nations (UN), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and the African Union (AU).

ENTRi is an initiative funded by the European Commission (90%) and co-funded by its 13 implementing partners under the lead of the Center for International Peace Operations (ZIF) in Berlin. The programme began in 2011 and is set to run until March 2016. The total budget of the programme since its inception is 5.8 million Euro. The implementing partners are from different Member States of the European Union and Switzerland. ENTRi was created by the European Union’s Instrument for Stability and is guided by the European Commission's Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI), which is co-located with the European External Action Service.

So far, 846 individuals holding 68 different nationalities were trained in a total of 41 ENTRi courses.

ENTRi Handbook "In Control"

Hands-on information and practical advice for everyday life and work in the field as well as background information on crisis management structures in international organisations lie at the heart of the new handbook “In Control: A Practical Guide for Civilian Experts Working in Crisis Management Missions.” You can download a PDF version of the handbook here.

Source: http://www.entriforccm.eu/

CSDP Training

Introduction on CSDP training

EU training policy in CSDP is aimed at creating a European security culture under the CSDP and meeting crisis management operational needs in both civilian and military fields.

Principles

EU training policy in CSDP is based on the following principles:

• Ensure a holistic and co-ordinated approach toward training for all categories of personnel;
• Reflect the development of EU Crisis Management capabilities and integrate lessons learnt from operational activities and exercises into training;
• Identify and share best practices among training providers;
• Be cost-effective with the best use of available resources/infrastructures (also through bilateral/multilateral cooperation - inside and outside the EU (e.g. with the UN) - in delivering of training activities);
• Contribute to the mainstreaming of a human rights and gender perspective into CSDP;
• Reflect the relevant aspects of International Law, including International Humanitarian Law;
• Complement from the EU level the CSDP-relevant training provided by Member States and seek synergies with international organisations, as appropriate.

Implementation

The EU Training Concept in ESDP  [123 KB] establishes the overall training cycle at EU level, which consists of four phases:

Phase one

• To analyse/identify the training requirements relevant to CSDP;

Phase two

• Based on this analysis, to design the annual EU Training Programme, which is now electronically available in Schoolmaster, listing the training activities of all relevant training actors in the field of CSDP;

Phase three

• To conduct and implement the EU Training Programme by the relevant actors;

Phase four

• To evaluate lessons learnt to be taken into account when starting the new cycle of analysing the training requirements for the next year's training programme. The assessment is done through the Comprehensive Annual Report on CSDP and CSDP-related Training (CART)  [84 KB] .

The EU also supports training efforts carried out by Member States, inter alia through the development of training modules and minimum standard training elements. Such modules and standards exist e.g. in the following fields: human rights, gender, and child protection.

Training providers

The EU training policy in CSDP is implemented by Member States' training providers on a national basis or through EU-level training providers/projects:

• ESDC (European Security and Defence College)
• CEPOL (European Police College)
• ENTRi (Europe's New Training Initiative for Civilian Crisis Management)
• EUPST (European Union Police Services Training)
• EDA supported training activities

Schoolmaster

Schoolmaster is an on-line database containing information on all courses delivered throughout the EU that are relevant to the European Union's Common Security and Defence Policy. Whether delivered by Member States' training institutions or by the EU itself, all courses in Schoolmaster are in principle open to participants from all Member States. If you want to receive alerts on new courses that training institutions upload to the Schoolmaster database, please subscribe here.

External Cooperation

Close cooperation with third states and international organisations is a basic principle for the EU as regards the conduct of crisis management operations. In the framework of CSDP training, it is reflected in harmonisation of approaches, content and sharing of best practices.

source: European Union External Action