The European initiative for the exchange of young officers inspired by Erasmus, which was launched in 2008 and is supported by the European Security and Defence College, is a cornerstone of the pursuit of these objectives. At the basis of the initiative is the conviction that the mobility of young military students, their teachers, their trainers, exchanging knowledge and know-how within the Union paves the way for greater integration and coherence of our future actions in favour of peace and security. When looking at the undoubted success of the Erasmus+ programme on our European society, there is no doubt that the exchanges of future military leaders will enhance better knowledge about, mastery of and commitment to common policies.
This new compendium of the European military officers’ initial education and training systems maps the assets of the Member States and the challenges they meet when further developing exchanges of young offices. It identifies the obstacles and formulates options for responding to these challenges. The present study provides the information that is needed for spreading the knowledge, skills and competences needed for the military leadership of the 21st century.