IMPETUS - The EUMS Common Security and Defence Policy Magazine

During Week 5 of Exercise EU Integrated Resolve 2022, the EU OHQ in Larissa, Greece conducted a very successful Observation Day for EU Partner countries and organisations. This event coincided with the completion of the planning phase of the Exercise. The following section provides an update on EU IR 22. This Exercise update provides a useful insight into the EU’s CSDP Political/Military Crisis Management planning process.

A conceptual document in the context of the European Union Military Staff is a “notion or a statement of an idea, expressing how something might be done or be accomplished.” In almost all cases there are many possible conceptual solutions to the challenges we are confronted with. In order to best manage the plethora of possible approaches, the exploitation of diversity of thought, experience and perspective is key. In this article, Lt Col Sebastian Schreiner, Action Officer from the EUMS Concepts branch, discusses the Annual European Union Military Staff Conceptual Development and Experimentation Seminar. This seminar offers a forum for an unconstrained exchange of conceptual thoughts under Chatham House rules. The primary target audience are the European Union Member States' centres and entities for concept development & experimentation. However, delegates from partner organisations, such as NATO or the United Nations, are also invited and attend regularly.

The Permanent Structured Cooperation, or PESCO, is among the most ambitious EU defence initiatives. Launched in December 2017, it aims to increase defence cooperation among the participating EU Member States to a new level. Twenty-five participating states signed up to 20 more binding commitments to jointly plan, develop and invest in shared capability projects. As PESCO approaches its fifth anniversary, the PESCO Secretariat – the European Defence Agency (EDA), the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the European Union Military Staff (EUMS) – have prepared an annual PESCO Projects Progress Report which highlights the underlying diversity of progress in ongoing projects.

What steps should the EU take on Security and Defence in order to successfully implement the EU Global Strategy? How can we strengthen our ties with NATO and other EU partners? What role will the EU play as a Security provider within a security environment that is not only challenging at present, but is ever evolving and as recent events have shown, unpredictable. CPX EU Integrated Resolve 22 (PACE) is an exercise bringing together EU MS and NATO, in the conceptual framework of a Parallel And Coordinated Exercises, focusing on the comprehensive management of a fast-paced, transboundary hybrid crisis with internal and external dimensions.

Maritime piracy has long haunted global shipping and remains a constant threat, not only to international maritime shipping, but also to regional stability and global security. Approximately 90 per cent of global trade by volume is transported by sea and handled by ports worldwide; this percentage is even higher for developing countries.

MILEX 22 is a CSDP planning exercise to enhance EU military capacity to respond to a crisis situation. The Military Planning and Conduct Capability (MPCC) assumed the responsibility of an Operational Headquarters (OHQ) at the military strategic level able to conduct one executive EU CSDP operation up to EU Battle Group size. The exercise also included an ES Force HQ (FHQ) in Huesca.

The EU is facing new challenges, unpredictable threats and greater uncertainty. The complex and contested security environment in which the EU finds itself necessitates an unprecedented level of coordination and cooperation, not only within the EU institutes but also between Member States. This coordination and cooperation is reinforced through the evolution of Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) structures such as the European Peace Facility, EU's Rapid Deployment Capacity and of course, the Strategic Compass.

The European Naval Force Somalia Operation Atalanta is a counter-piracy military operation conducted at sea off the Horn of Africa and in the Western Indian Ocean. It was the first Maritime CSDP operation of the European Union in which individual Member States united together under the EU flag. Since its launch on 8 December 2008, Operation Atalanta remains committed to the implementation of its mandate to ensure maritime security off the coast of Somalia, in line with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Its mandate was extended until 31 December 2022 by the European Council.