On Monday 6 March, the EU's foreign affairs and defence ministers agreed unanimously to the establishment of a structure within the EU Military Staff, ensuring the command of CSDP missions with non-executive mandate.
This structure, which has the technical name of 'Military Planning and Conduct Capability' (MPCC), will be set up within the already-existing EU Military Staff in Brussels and will be tasked with the planning and conduct of military missions with non-executive mandate.
There are currently three non-executive missions (advisory and training missions): EUTM Somalia, EUTM RCA and EUTM Mali. These missions are conducted on the ground and there is no intermediary level between the mission on the ground and the political level in Brussels, mainly the Political and Security Committee (PSC). The new structure will enable the mission commanders on the ground to focus on the activities specific to their mission, with better support provided by Brussels, according to a Council press release.
"It will allow us to have a more unified, more rational, more efficient approach to the existing military training missions we have, and I think this is going to be a major step forward. It is not the European army (…) but it is a more effective way of handling our military work", High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini told press. The MPCC will be directed by the director-general of the EU Military Staff, Esa Pulkkinen from Finland, and will comprise a team of around 30 members. According to Mogherini, the MPCC should be operational "in the coming weeks" and will be subject to review by the end of 2018.
The Council also approved the creation of a common coordination cell for support, Mogherini announced. This cell will enable the MPCC to cooperate closely with its counterpart in the civilian sector, the 'Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability' (CPCC). "This coordination cell will help us create and highlight even more the synergies on the ground", Mogherini said. The cell will also enable the sharing of expertise, knowledge and best practice on relevant issues for both military and civilian missions, as well as the sharing of capabilities when there is simultaneous deployment of civilian and military missions in the same zone, including medical assistance or protection measures, the Council stated in its press release. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)