On Tuesday 17 July 2018 the first medal parade of the EUAM IRAQ was celebrated with the presence of distinguished guests including ambassadors, representatives from EUAM Iraq’s National and International stakeholders. The event included speeches from the EU Deputy Head of Mission, the Iraqi Ministry of Interior’s representative- Head of the Planning and Followup Directorate, our Head of Mission and the Head of Protocol in the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The medals given may be awarded to all civil and military personnel who have participated in an EU-led Crisis Management Operation (CMO) within the scope of Title V of the Treaty of the European Union (TEU) upon evaluation of merit. They are given on behalf of the High Representative/Vice President of the Commission (HR/VP), Madame Federica Mogherini, and the delegated authority through CivOpsCdr to the Head of Mission to hand them over to the staff.

We had two types of medals given in the event:

1. CSDP Service Medal for Headquarters and Forces which is to be awarded for Civilian/Military personnel working in the Crisis Establishment (CE) of Headquarters and Forces. Qualifying personnel must be deployed in the area of operation and have served for a certain time; this is in recognition for a long-standing period without demerit.
2. CSDP Service Medal for Planning and Support This medal is to be awarded for personnel working within international/national organisations in direct support of an EU Operation/Mission either inside or outside the area of operation/mission; examples of such recipients include National Support Elements, EU Delegations, other minor Units in direct support of the Operation/Mission. Only one medal awarded of this kind today to our Head of Mission Support, the rest will be handed over to our HQ for award at an appropriate time.

Congratulations to our 21 International EUAM staff medal recipients today. It is one more milestone, one more well-deserved recognition in their distinguished careers. We look toward the new mandate, new achievement in cooperation with the Iraqi people and government – on behalf of the EU Member States and European External Action Services.