Brussels, 08/03/2000 (Agence Europe) - Following the setting up of the Political and Security Committee (see EUROPE of 3 March, p.5) and the Interim Military Body (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.3), the first national experts in the military field, precursors of the future European staff headquarters have begun to be seconded to the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union for an interim period (for now, it is a question of some dozen officers and non-commissioned officers: see EUROPE of 25 February, p.4).
The EU Council has adopted a decision on the regime applicable to these national military experts (published in the Official Journal L 57). The decision stipulates that the military experts: - may be seconded for a maximum of three years (in exceptional cases, the secondment may be extended for a period up to one year); - shall provide military expertise to the Interim Military Body and to the Secretary General/High Representative (presently Javier Solana); - shall carry out the tasks "assigned to them in a predetermined work programme or job description", acting under the authority of the Secretary General/High Representative and "under the military guidance of the Interim Military Body".
The very detailed decision, moreover, sets out the rights and obligations of the seconded experts in the military field (for example, the obligation to abstain from "disclosing to any unauthorised person any document of information not legally made public") and their working conditions and remuneration.