CSDP Flashcards
CSDP aim
The CSDP enables the Union to take a leading role in peace-keeping operations, conflict prevention and in the strengthening of the international security. It is an integral part of the EU’s comprehensive approach towards crisis management, drawing on civilian and military assets.
Origin
1948 - treaty of Brussels
The idea of a common defence policy for Europe dates back to 1948 when the UK, France, and the Benelux signed the Treaty of Brussels.
1954 -Western European Union
The agreement included a mutual defence clause laying down the foundations for the creation of the Western European Union (WEU), which remained until the late 1990s, together with NATO, the principal forum for consultation and dialogue on security and defence in Europe.
1992 - Petersberg tasks
Following the end of the Cold War and the subsequent conflicts in the Balkans, it became clear that the EU needed to assume its responsibilities in the field of conflict prevention and crisis management.
The conditions under which military units could be deployed were already agreed by the WEU Council in 1992 but the so-called “Petersberg Tasks” where now integrated in the 1999 Treaty of Amsterdam (= transferred from the Western EU to EU).
The member states agreed to deploy their troops and resources from across the whole spectrum of the military under the authority of the WEU.
The tasks, which covered a range of possible military missions ranging from the most simple to the most robust military intervention, were formulated as:
- Humanitarian and rescue tasks
- Peacekeeping tasks
- Tasks of combat forces in crisis management, including peacemaking.
Officially, the range of tasks the EU/WEU committed itself to “included” the above, but were not limited to them. In practice, the task of territorial defence is considered the domain of NATO. As 21 of the 27 EU member states are also NATO members, there are many provisions to prevent competition with NATO.
In addition, the post of the “High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy” was created to allow the Union to speak with ‘one face and one voice’ on foreign policy matters.
1999 - Treaty of Amsterdam
The Treaty of Amsterdam was adopted by EU Member States in June 1997 and entered into force in May 1999.
The Treaty codified a number of new structures and tasks for the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), and, although it did not create a common defence policy, it did increase responsibilities in the realms of peacekeeping and humanitarian work i.a. by creating closer links with the WEU.
1999 - Cologne European Council
At the Cologne European Council in 1999, Member States reaffirmed the Union’s willingness to develop capabilities for autonomous action, backed up by credible military forces. A key development was the “Berlin Plus agreement” giving the EU, under certain conditions, access to NATO assets and capabilities.
Civilian Compact
On 19 November 2018, EU Member States agreed on an ambitious Civilian CSDP Compact to make civilian Missions more capable, more effective, flexible and responsive and more joined up with other EU instruments in light of the changed security environment.
The aim is to strengthen the EU’s capacity to deploy civilian crisis management missions. The objectives of these missions are to reinforce the police, the rule of law and the civil administration in fragile and conflict settings.
Strengthening civilian CSDP contributes to the EU’s wider response to tackle security challenges.
On what resources are civilian missions built?
On MS contributions
Through our civilian CSDP missions, we provide an essential contribution to rule of law, civil administration, police and security sector reform in crisis areas.
Our civilian missions are also crucial in the EU’s wider response to security challenges through non-military means, including those linked to:
- irregular migration,
- hybrid threats,
- terrorism, radicalisation and violent extremism.
By using seconded personnel from Member States, as stipulated in the TEU, the EU employs well-trained, experienced and vetted professionals, thus ensuring effectiveness and increasing legitimacy of its civilian missions.
Civilian compact and capacity development
The first cluster of the Civilian CSDP Compact addresses capability development specifically.
It consists of concrete commitments for Member States to develop the required capabilities and to enhance their availability for civilian CSDP missions.
This includes commitments on increasing MS contributions to civilian CSDP, such as the commitments to achieve a 70/30% ratio between seconded and contracted personnel, and to increase the representation of women in civilian CSDP missions at all levels.
Reporting on civilian CSDP compact
To implement their commitments, Member States are working on the basis of National Implementation Plans.
Progress is monitored through a yearly Civilian Annual Report on Capabilities, and discussed with senior Member States’ representatives as part of the Annual Review Conference.
What was the Civilian Headline Goal 2003?
The Helsinki Headline Goal was a military capability target set for 2003 during the December 1999 Helsinki European Council meeting with the aim of developing a future European Rapid Reaction Force.[1][2] There was much interest in the idea of a single EU military force, and inexact characterisations of the initiative (which was not much more than some headquarters arrangements and a list of theoretically available national forces) led to imprecise journalistic depictions about a unified European army.[3]
It focused mostly on capability development.
It was set up in 2000 by the European Council in Feira.
It identified four priority areas for the EU in the field of crisis management:
1) policing,
2) the rule of law,
3) civil administration
4) civil protection.
What was the Civilian Headline Goal 2008?
The Civilian Headline Goal 2008 (CHG 2008).
It added two new priorities to those identified at Feira:
1) monitoring missions
2) support for EU Special Representatives.
The CHG 2008 also emphasised the need for the Union to conduct simultaneous missions and highlighted two further focus areas for the EU:
- security sector reform (SSR)
- disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration (DDR).
What was the Civilian Headline Goal 2010 (CHG 2010)
The CHG 2010 placed greater emphasis on civil-military cooperation in addition to a continued focus on improving readiness and deployability.
MS made the commitment that by the year 2010, at the latest, they would be capable of responding “with swift and decisive action applying a fully coherent approach” to the whole spectrum of crisis management operations covered by the Treaty of the EU and the 2003 EU Security Strategy (i.e. humanitarian and rescue tasks, disarmament operations, support to third countries in combating terrorism, peacekeeping tasks and tasks of combat forces in crisis management, and peacemaking).
The EU also aimed to address the shortfalls from the previous headline goal (e.g. gaps related to strategic airlift and sealift) which were still considered to be a limiting factor to the operability of the designated forces, especially in more demanding crisis management operations.
It also identified other capabilities to be developed, such as making available 285 additional experts on transitional justice, dialogue, and conflict analysis.
The CHG 2010 also focused on the creation of Civilian Response Teams (CRT), a 100-person strong pool of experts prepared for rapid deployment.
It was synchronised with the Military Headline Goal 2010.
Military capabilities
On 19 November 2007, the Council approved the Progress Catalogue 2007.
It identifies quantitative and qualitative military capability shortfalls on the basis of the requirements set out in the Requirements Catalogue 2005 and the contributions compiled in the Force Catalogue 2007.
It analyses their potential implications for military tasks to be carried out in crisis management operations.
What is the overall conclusion of the Progress Catalogue 2007?
The EU, with a view to 2010, has the capability to conduct the full spectrum of military CSDP operations within the parameters of the Strategic Planning Assumptions, with different levels of operational risk arising from the identified shortfalls.
Some of the shortfalls identified are regarded as critical; they relate to the capability to transport forces to theatre, to deploy them in theatre, to protect them and to acquire information superiority.
On that basis, a Capability Development Plan (CDP) was submitted on 8 July 2008 to the Steering Board of the EDA composed of Member States’ “Capabilities” chiefs.
The Board endorsed the CDP conclusions and started work on an initial list of priority capability areas.
Who are the EU actors involved in military capability?
- EDA,
- Member States,
- EU Military Committee (EUMC)
- EU Military Staff (EUMS),
- GSC.
What is the European Defence Agency?
It is an agency of the Council of the European Union supporting the development of defence capabilities and military cooperation among its Member States (all EU Member States except Denmark);
Set-up in July 2004, its Steering Board meets at the level of defence ministers;
Based in Brussels, the EDA enables and facilitates defence cooperation among its Member States for the whole life-cycle of a capability including cooperation in research and technology as well as procurement or training.
It falls under the authority of the Council of the EU, to which it reports and from which it receives guidelines.
HRVP Josep Borrell is the Head of the Agency.
It is led by the Chief Executive Jiří Šedivý.
The European Defence Agency was established under a Joint Action of the Council of Ministers on 12 July, 2004, “to support the Member States and the Council in their effort to improve European defence capabilities in the field of crisis management and to sustain the European Security and Defence Policy as it stands now and develops in the future”.
The European Defence Agency’s initial main missions are to develop defence capabilities; promote defence research and technology (R&T); foster armaments co-operation; and to create a competitive European Defence Equipment Market as well as to strengthen the European Defence, Technological and Industrial Base.
In May 2017, following a Long Term Review (LTR) initiated by the Head of the Agency, Defence ministers agreed to reinforce EDA’s mission by strengthening its role as the main instrument for intergovernmental capability planning and prioritisation in Europe; as the prime forum and coordinator for the whole lifecycle of capability development; and as Member States’ central interface and gateway towards EU institutions and stakeholders.
The Agency has signed Administrative Arrangements with Norway (2006), Switzerland (2012), the Republic of Serbia (2013) and Ukraine (2015) enabling them to participate in EDA’s projects and programmes.
What is the European Union Military Committee (EUMC)?
The EUMC is the highest military body set up within the Council. It:
- directs all military activities within the EU framework, in particular the planning and execution of miltary missions and operations under the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) and the development of military capabilities,
- provides military advice and recomendations to the Political and Security Committee (PSC).
This committee is responsible for the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CSFP) and the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP).
The EUMC is composed of the chiefs of defence of the member states, who are regularly represented by their permanent military representatives.
The EUMC has a permanent chair, selected by the EUMC meeting at the level of chiefs of defence, and appointed by the Council.
It was set up by Council Decision 2001/79/CFSP of 22 January 2001.
What is the Helsinki Headline Goal?
The Helsinki Headline Goal was a military capability target set for 2003 during the December 1999 Helsinki European Council meeting with the aim of developing a future European Rapid Reaction Force.
There was much interest in the idea of a single EU military force, and inexact characterisations of the initiative (which was not much more than some headquarters arrangements and a list of theoretically available national forces) led to imprecise journalistic depictions about a unified European army.
Two goals:
- co-operating voluntarily in EU-led operations, Member States must be able, by 2003, to deploy within 60 days and sustain for at least 1 year military forces. The Union will be able to carry out the full range of tasks stated in Article 17 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU).
- new political and military bodies and structures will be established within the Council to enable the Union to ensure the necessary political guidance and strategic direction to such operations.
What was the European Capability Action Plan?
During the December 2001 Laeken summit, the EU launched the European Capabilities Action Plan (ECAP) to remedy European capability shortfalls. It involved initially some 20 panels composed of military experts from the member states which put forward plans and proposals to fill the identified shortfalls (e.g., by acquiring new equipment or optimising existing capabilities, in particular through cooperation at European level).
What is the Headline Force Catalogue?
From the Petersberg task scenarios, the EU Military Staff generated the “Helsinki Headline Catalogue” which specifies which capabilities are required in each of 144 capability areas. In November 2000, the European Union held a Capabilities Commitment Conference in Brussels, which elicited commitments for over 100,000 (existing) troops that were declared available for what became known as the Helsinki Force Catalogue.[4] A year later, a Capabilities Improvement Conference was held during which further military forces and 5,000 police were added to the catalogue.
What is the PSC?
The Political and Security Committee (PSC) meets at the ambassadorial level as a preparatory body for the Council of the EU. Its main functions are keeping track of the international situation, and helping to define policies within the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) including the CSDP. It prepares a coherent EU response to a crisis and exercises its political control and strategic direction.
What is the CIVCOM?
It is the Committee for Civilian Aspects of Crisis Management.
In parallel with the EUMC, the PSC is advised by CIVCOM.
This committee provides information, drafts recommendations, and gives its opinion to the PSC on civilian aspects of crisis management.
