On Monday 30 July, by written procedure, the Council extended and broadened the scope of the mandate for the EU military training mission in the Central African Republic (EUTM RCA).
The mission has thus been extended by two years, until 19 September 2020.
The mandate was also modified to enable EUTM RCA to give strategic advice not only to the Ministry of Defence, military staff and the armed forces but also the president’s cabinet, and to allow it to provide advice on civil-military cooperation, including to the Ministry of the Interior and the Gendarmerie.
The Council has allocated a budget of around €25.4 million for the common costs of EUTM RCA for the period 20 September 2018 to 19 September 2020.
The EUTM RCA, launched on 16 July 2016 as a follow-up to an EU military advisory mission (EUMAM RCA), contributes to security sector reform in the country. It provides strategic advice to the Central African Republic’s Ministry of Defence and the General Staff, and gives courses to officers and non-commissioned officers, as well as training to FACA units. The mission, which is established in Bangui, works towards making the Central African Armed Forces (FACA) “modernised, effective, inclusive and democratically accountable”, the Council press release states. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)