Chairman´s Newsletter EUROPEAN UNION MILITARY COMMITTEE Issue nº October51, 2018 @Kostarakos 8en. M 9ha l :ostara9os In this issue: Approaching the end of my tenure I have been honoured, this month, to chair the EU Military Commi%ee at Chiefs of Defence (C(ODs) le el. Message from the Once again, this unique forum at the top military le el has pa ed the ,ay to frui-ul debates, and allo,ed us to Chairman take stock of the most rele ant issues in the .eld of European Security and Defence. p. 1 0he EU C(ODs ha e been 1oined by the highest leadership of 2A0O and guests from 3artner 2a4ons, along ,ith o5cials from rele ant European Ins4tu4ons and Agencies. In her opening address, the (igh Representa4 e, 7ederica Mogherini commended the latest achie ements in the CSDP actors: implementa4on of the Global Strategy ,hich ,ere due 89to the team ,ork done in an e:cellent manner9 8, she “Execu*ve summary of emphasised that the progress made in the .eld of European Security and Defence in the last t,o years has im- 3 years as Cha r of the pressed e en the most scep4cal commentators. CEUMC. 0he presence of my 2A0O counterpart, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart 3each, has underlined once again the success- by General. ful coopera4on at the military le el bet,een the t,o main Interna4onal Organisa4ons in Europe. 0he common recent ad ances in the .eld of Military Mobility, (ybrid and Cyber ha e been discussed in our dedicated session. Mikhail Kostarakos 0he respec4 e Commanders of EU CSD3 Opera4ons ha e reported on the state of play and discussed strategic p. 2 for,ard looking issues. 0he Director of the Military 3lanning Conduct Capability (M3CC) has outlined progress made by our Military 0raining Missions, along ,ith force genera4on and .nancial challenges. Also the Deputy Com- mander of US A7RICOM has 1oined us, highligh4ng the importance of e<ec4 e coopera4on in the .eld. CSDP n ac*on: Along ,ith our regular 3artners in CSD3 Opera4ons and Missions (Albania, Bosnia and (erzego ina, Montenegro, New from our Opera1 Serbia, Georgia and the Republic of Korea), ,e ha e had the pleasure to ,elcome, as a special guest, the Vice *ons and M ss ons Minister of 2a4onal Defence of Vietnam, Senior Lieutenant General 2guyen Chi Vinh. In the frame,ork of a dedi- p. 3 cated panel, both EU C(ODs and 3artners ha e been updated on the EEAS 3artnership 3olicy, and important e:- changes of ie,s ha e taken place, ,ith par4cular reference to lessons learned from 3artners on ho, to prepare for par4cipa4on in CSD3. News from the Com1 A .nal panel has been dedicated to Capabili4es. 0he Chief E:ecu4 e EDA, Ambassador Domecq, has discussed ,ith m 3ee the EU C(ODs the CARD trial run, along ,ith phase II of 3ESCO pro1ect proposals. On this occasion, C(ODs also recei ed an in depth brief by the European Commission Director General Ms. Lo,ri E ans, on a par4cularly promi- p. 4 nent topic, the European Defence 7und. In an emo4onal moment, I concluded this Commi%ee ,ith the symbolic hando er of the CEUMC Baton of the O5ce to General Claudio Graziano ,ho ,ill chair the EU Military Commi%ee as of 2o ember the Ath. At a moment in 4me ,hen security issues dominate Europe and the global stage, I am ery proud of ,hat ,e ha e The views expressed in this news- achie ed o er these last three years. 0he EU Military Commi%ee has played a key role in materialising the ision of leer are those of the author and a stronger Europe, a Europe that protects, the Europe ,e all deser e. I remain con.dent that the current impetus do not represente the official posi- on of the European Union Military ,ill remain strong under the direc4on of my successor, General Graziano. Commiee or the single Mem er 7inally, I ,ould like to take ad antage of this auspicious occasion to e:press my deep apprecia4on and gra4tude to States" Chiefs of Defence the EU C(ODs and all the European authori4es ,ho supported and sustained me during my last three years as LATEST EVENTS Chair of the EU Military Commi%ee. Camp 4utm r, 364 oct.: O=c al v s t to Wash ngton D.C., 1461A Oct.: Ch efs of De1 4russels, 25625 Oct.: EU M l tary Com1 EUFOR ALTHEA fence Annual Conference m 3ee at Ch efs of Defence level 1 CSDP Actors Execuve summary of 3 years as Chair of the CEUMC y General Mikhail Kostarakos I ,ould no, like to take a this area. moment to reCect on the last Equally, ini4a4 es such as three years as Chair of this CARD, 3ESCO, the European Commi%ee. In the past days Defence 7und and the Euro- I ha e asked myself the ques- pean 3eace 7acility are lead- 4on, ha e I achie ed ,hat I ing the ,ay to,ards posi4 e ,ished to achie e ,hen I change and bene.ts to the came into this role, and the Armed 7orces of Europe. ans,er is an empha4c 8yes8. Be must ne er lose sight of Of course there ha e been the fact that it is us, the Mili- General Mikhail Kostarakos disappointments along the tary E:perts and Leaders, ,ay but my main priority that must set the require- military is in the capable ,as to raise the pro.le of the ments so that ,e ha e the hands of our young person- military community here in right tools for the tasks set nel and I ha e been ery Brussels and contribute, in a to us. Be also need the pleased ,ith the progress ,e meaningful ,ay, to any 3oli- right resources to further ha e made to,ards crea4ng cy or ac4 ity or idea that our ,ork ,ith 3artners, to opportuni4es to deepen our ,ould e<ect the military build mutual trust. 0he cur- common military culture in forces in Europe. In this, I rent obstacles to pro iding Europe and ,e ha e also can say ,ith con.dence, I equipment to 3artners or to been at the forefront of ini4- ha e been successful. launch de elopment pro- a4 es on gender main- My 4ming ,as good. 3erhaps 1ects must be remo ed streaming and educa4on. I am one of those 8lucky8 through the crea4on of .- I am ery proud of ,hat ,e Generals that 2apoleon nancial instruments that are ha e achie ed o er the past spoke of, in that my arri al .t for purpose. 3 years. Europe is a credible coincided ,ith that of the I ha e also ,orked hard on security partner and pro ider (R, Mme MOG(ERI2I, and 3artnership and Coopera- that shall con4nue to go the draDing of the EU Global 4on, ,ith old friends and from strength to strength. Strategy that has done so ne, and in par4cular ,ith And the Military has much to focus 3oli4cal minds 2A0O. I only regret that ,e strengthened its oice and on the Security and Defence ,ere unable to do more posi4on at the heart of deci- domain. ,ith 2A0O and I kno, Clau- sion making on military Be ha e used the momen- dio ,ill con4nue ,orking to ma%ers. Be are the ham- tum in our fa our and the o ercome the barriers to mer in the EU 0oolbo:. crea4on of the Military 3lan- greater coopera4on. I be- Ladies and Gentlemen, it is ning and Conduct Capability, lie e the successful ini4a4 e your task no, to carry on or M3CC, is concrete e i- to place Military Ad isors in this ,ork as my 4me comes dence of progress that ,as some EU Delega4ons ,ill to a close, so I ,ould like to long o erdue. Our discus- also facilitate be%er cooper- pass on the ChairmanEs Ba- sions today .ll me ,ith con.- a4on and understanding. ton of o5ce as ,ell as the dence that the momentum As I come to the end of my burden of responsibility, to ,ill not be lost and more military career I .rmly be- my successor, Gen Claudio progress shall be made in lie e that the future of the Graziano. 2 News from our Opera*ons B M ss ons EUFOR ALTHEA 7rom October the 24th to October the 2Ath, soldiers from the EU7ORHs Interna4onal Military 3olice (IM3) Detachment in Camp Butmir, Sara- 1e o, conducted a speci.c training for Armed 7orces Bi( (A7Bi() Military 3olice soldiers, in prepara4on to their upcoming deployment to Afghanistan. 0he training conducted by instructors from Austria, 3oland and the Slo akian Military 3olice, included comprehensi e theore4- cal and prac4cal sessions. EUNAVFOR ATALANTA EU 2AV7ORHs Italian ,arship 7ederico Mar4nengo has been on counter-piracy opera4ons for t,o months. O er this 4me, some signi.cant milestones and achie ements ha e occurred building ground-breaking ne, rela4onships. Since 11th August, signi.cant acts of interna4onal coopera4on ha e taken place, pro ing that EU assets in the area can make a substan4al di<erence to the li elihoods and security of the countries around the (orn of Africa. Coopera4on ,ith Seychellois Military 7orces occurred ,hen I0S Mar4nengo conducted air opera4ons and training ,ith local agencies. 0his combined approach has pro ed bene.cial to EU 2AV7OR assets and the Seychellois military, ,hich operate together in the high-risk areas of the Bestern Indian Ocean.