3rd module of the course dedicated to missions and operations
of the Common Security and Defence Policy
From 19 to 23 April, under the aegis of the European Security and Defence College (CESD), Module 3 of the High-Level Course on the missions and operations of the PSDC (" CSDP in action). This pan-European course brought together some 66 participants, civil servants and military personnel from the Member States of the European Union, as well as from European institutions and agencies. The course programme was structured around 17 lectures and round tables, with 33 leading French and European speakers taking part.
Lt-Gen Patrick DESTREMAU, Director of the IHEDN, opened the High-Level Course alongside Colonel Dirk DUBOIS, Director of the European Security and Defence College (ESDC), with a welcome address.
The opening address, given by Vice-Admiral Henri SCHRICKE, Military and Defence Representative to NATO and the European Union, presented the major issues of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), which govern the implementation of CSDP operations and missions. The course was also honoured by the participation of VAE Hervé BLEJEAN, Director of the European Union Military Staff.
Through a series of lectures on the various issues at stake in these missions and operations, which took care to combine the European and French viewpoints, this course enabled participants to deepen their understanding of the European Union's involvement in crisis situations, particularly in the Sahel.
Lt-Gen Laurent KOLODZIEJ, Commander of Eurocorps, presented the actions carried out at multinational and European level and shared his expertise on behalf of both the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and the European Union. It highlighted the complementarity and flexibility of Euro-Atlantic structures. Strategic issues such as gender equality, the link between internal and external security (migration issues), emerging threats (cyber, hybrids, etc.) and the sovereignty of the European defence technological and industrial base were addressed in order to provide a global vision of all these issues, which is necessary to understand the coherence of the EU's CSDP action.
The course will be brought to a close this Friday by Ambassador Claire RAULIN, Permanent Representative of France to the Political and Security Committee of the European Union, and Ambassador Corinne BREUZE, Director of the Europe and International Affairs Department of the IHEDN, who will be moving on to the future of CSDP, the theme of the fourth and final module of this high-level course, which will be jointly organised by Austria and Greece.
