Brussels, 20/02/2006 (Agence Europe) - The first ESDP (European Security and Defence Policy) Orientation Course starts on 20 February. It is being held in Brussels from 20 to 24 February inclusive, and can be attended by people from EU candidate countries, non-EU Member States and representatives of international organisations. Organised by the Presidency of the Council of the EU, with the support of the Council's Secretariat General and the European Commission, it aims to provide basic knowledge about the ESDP. The course includes a general introduction to the institutional framework of the European Union and the European security strategy, crisis management, civilian and military capacity, operations led by the EU and the EU's relations with international organisations. There will be a roundtable discussion on the Balkans States. Austria's defence minister, Gunther Planner, will address the participants by video, in the presence of the Austrian ambassador to the EU's PSC (Political and Security Committee), Franz Josef Kuglitsch.