The European Security and Defence College and its contribution to the Common Security and Defence Culture A 15 year journey We inspire, we train, we challenge! ©iStock.com/the-lightwriter The European Security and Defence College and its contribution to the Common Security and Defence Culture A 15 year journey Edited by Ilias Katsagounos With forwards by Josep Borrell Fontelles High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission (HR/VP) Niels Annen, . Any views or opinions presented in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the European Union or the European Security and Defence College or the Institutions that the authors represent , Imprint Editor: Dr. Ilias Katsagounos Publication of the European Security and Defence College . Manuscript completed in July 2020 Neither the European Security and Defence College nor any person acting on behalf of the European Security and Defence College is responsible for the use that might be made of the following information. .!"!" Print ISBN 978-92-95201-29-3 doi:10.2855/721679 QW-01-20-212-EN-C PDF ISBN 978-92-95201-28-6 doi:10.2855/459605 QW-01-20-212-EN-N $%&!"!" Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. For any use or reproduction of photos or other material that is not under the copyright of the European $%&' CONTENT Josep Borrell Fontelles High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Vice-President of the European Commission 5 Foreword by the German EU Council Presidency Niels Annen, . Ilias D. Katsagounos National Expert at the European Security and Defence College 9 LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 11 WELCOME TO THE COLLEGE 15 Introduction and general remarks by the Head of ESDC 16 The ESDC Honorary Fellows 20 The creation of the European Security and Defence College – the early days 22 THE KEY ESDC PARTNERS 29 EUISS-ESDC cooperation: a win-win relationship 31 EDA-ESDC: Common knowledge for common action 36 CEPOL-ESDC: The human factor in CSDP missions – CEPOL’s role 38 FRONTEX-ESDC: Promoting European standards for integrated border management outside of the EU 45 EU SatCen-ESDC: An invaluable partnership 54 EUROPOL: An overview of yet one more partner 59 A CLOSER LOOK ON THE ESDC AND ITS FUNCTIONING 61 The work performed by the ESDC Steering Committee 65 The EAB and its functioning 68 . !"#$% & The European Military Secondary Schools Forum 81 ',)*.!'+"#% / The Security Sector Reform (SSR) Working Group 92 3 The Working Group on Missions and Operations (WG MOT) 98 The European Doctoral School on the CSDP 105 The College’s footprint in the digital era 114 From ESDC IDL group over ESDC EAB.eLCIP to ESDC EAB.Cyber 119 CSDP Cyber Education, Training, Exercise and Evaluation (ETEE) Platform under the ESDC 123 ESDC AND THE WORLD: WALKING THE PATH OF THE EUGS 135 Training for partnerships 136 The ESDC engagement with regions and 3rd countries (China, ASEAN, South America and Mexico, etc.) 141 CSDP Annual Training and Education Conference 148 THE VOICE OF THE ESDC NETWORK 151 The voice of the EU Military Committee 152 <= &> The voice of IHEDN 161 The voice of the Egmont – Royal Institute for International Relations 166 ?=< &@ =QYZ &[ The voice of the EUMS 181 The voice of the The European Centre of Excellence YZ &/ SPECIAL CONTRIBUTIONS 193 Common training on CSDP – an idea turned into reality 194 A Union at the Crossroads 199 The ESDC Alumni Association 206 ANNEXES 210 Annex A 211 Annex B 229 Annex C 232 Annex D 235 BIBLIOGRAPHY 249 Josep Borrell Fontelles © Uuropean Union High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Vice-President of the European Commission The year 2020 has been anything but easy. Rising geopolitical competition between the US and China, tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, increased instability in the Sahel region, and the growing outcry for democracy and human rights in countries such as Belarus or Venezuela are rapidly changing the international geopolitical landscape. In addition, the Covid-19 pandemic has caused an enormous loss of life, economic disruption and severely affected the normal functioning of societies around the world. The coronavirus crisis is creating a more competitive global environment, with confrontation growing faster than cooperation. And it has shown the importance of being better prepared when dealing with a crisis of this magnitude, in particular when it affects the security of the Union and its citizens. The scope and pace of the transformations we are witnessing cannot be understated. Yet it also offers a unique opportunity for the European - an increasingly volatile world stage. From the Sahel to Belarus, Libya to Y- EU citizens and partner countries alike are asking for a more coherent, robust and determined response from Europe to provide stability, peace and prosperity in its immediate neighbourhood. ! urge us to take our collective security into our own hands. That is why, since the beginning of my mandate, I have placed the Common Security "#$Y%$ a duty towards our citizens, and towards our allies and partners around the world. 5 &''(,*+"# /+ and capacities to contribute to a more stable, peaceful and prosperous world. Since then, the EU has played an increasing role %$ the structures, mechanisms and tools at our disposal, deploying 35 military and civilian CSDP missions in three continents over the last 17 years to promote stability and security around the world. The European women and men deployed with these missions and operations are not only helping to build a better world, they are also contributing to make Europe a safer place. The College plays a major role in the development of a common security and defence culture. Over the past 15 years, it has helped to prepare, train and educate cohorts of European military and civilian staff to cope with the challenges of living and working in unstable scenarios far away from their homes. It has also contributed to promote and develop amongst Member States, European institutions and their respective staffs a common understanding of the mission and shared values that guide Europe’s actions in the world. And it has built a vast network of partners, including universities, think tanks and training partner institutions across the EU, to provide the best trainings on a wide range of security and -$ 4 Member States and EU institutions can lead to a truly European Security and Defence Policy that drives on the vast amount of $6 continue strengthening the EU’s capacity to act in the global stage, the hard work of the European Security and Defence College will be key to ensure that the CSDP is ready to address the challenges of 6 Foreword by the German EU Council Presidency Niels Annen, Minister of State at © Sandro Halank, CC BY-SA 4.0 . %8:;$ the European Security and Defence College in .=4+"* spared from the effects of Covid-19, though its activities are % a fundamental challenge to the European Union and to us all. Therefore, the priority for Germany’s EU Presidency is to overcome the disruptive consequences of Covid-19 and to make Europe stronger and more resilient towards future challenges. In this vein, we will continue our efforts, jointly with the EEAS and Member States, to further strengthen and develop the Common Security and Defence Policy – by restoring the full operational capability of CSDP missions and operations, by fostering the implementation of the Civilian CSDP Compact, by strengthening the coherence of European defence initiatives and by starting work on the ‘Strategic Compass’ to give future strategic guidance. The idea of CSDP is to ensure the EU’s ability to act through Member States’ civilian and military capabilities and joint autonomous decision-making bodies. Since this idea was born at the European Council in Cologne in 1999, the missions and operations continuously had to adapt to changing conditions. The portfolio of EU missions in 2005 – the year when the ESDC was established – bears only little resemblance to the broad range of objectives and of mandates and security threats to mission personnel, parameters have shifted substantially. In turn, the ESDC has steadily adapted *+"#4 -+"* inter alia Cyber-diplomacy, Hybrid Threats, Energy Challenges or Comprehensive Approach to Gender. Training is a key factor for the success of CSDP. This is of particular concern to the civilian CSDP missions with their wide range of ,?,$4+"* courses do not only aim at preparing this staff as best as possible, but they also create a common understanding across Member +, CSDP and the EU acquis in general. Thus the ESDC is instrumental in shaping a joint European security culture, both in the internal and The training landscape in the EU is evolving dynamically as Member States are becoming increasingly aware of remaining capability gaps. Consequently, last year the mandate of the EU Civilian Training @,6 **$* Management have decided that training processes will be among *Y,% coordinate these various structures in the most effective way. The ESDC should assume a leading role in this process. In turn, the ESDC will also have to evolve. Its unique network structure, its responsiveness to new training needs, its intrinsic civilian-military integration, both in terms of network and audience, these hallmarks have ensured the success and relevance of the ESDC in the past 15 years and must be preserved. Germany has been one of the main advocates for the establishment of the ESDC and stands ready, as EU Presidency and beyond, to accompany and support the ESDC on its course to the future. 8 Ilias D. Katsagounos National Expert at the European Security and Defence College © Ilias D. Katsagounos D. Ilias © None of this would have happened if it hadn’t been for my dear friend ;+"*J*+K $$$% wonderful journey it has been, reliving the history of the College through the eyes of those who were there for its creation and who have helped it evolve and provided their support along the way.