The "Europe" mission, postponed to 28 and 29 September 2020 due to the confinement imposed by the pandemic, enabled the auditors to meet up one last time as part of the session. They travelled to Brussels, the heart of the European institutions, where they were able to discover the major maritime issues facing the European Union, the policies and strategies implemented to deal with them, and how France is cooperating with its European allies to build a Europe capable of facing the challenges of today's world, which are only increasing with the return of the powerful states, their policy of fait accompli, less respect for international law and the erosion of multilateralism.
On Friday morning, the Permanent Representation of France to the European Union (EUPR) immersed listeners in the European atmosphere. Claire RAULIN, France's ambassador to the EU's Political and Security Committee (PSC), discussed the security implications of Brexit for France and its position within the EU. Vice-Admiral Henri SCRICKE, French military representative to the European Union and NATO's Military Committee, focused on military and maritime issues and the delicate division of roles between NATO and the EU in a particularly sensitive area that directly affects the sovereignty of Member States.
Finally, Ludovic BUTEL, adviser to the EUPR in charge of negotiations with the United Kingdom, gave listeners the opportunity to find out about and answer their questions on the "Stakes of Brexit in the maritime sector". Édouard SIMON, Director of Research at IRIS specialising in European security and defence issues, gave a presentation on European defence and the challenges of industrial and armaments policy.
Lastly, Théo BARBE and Paul AVRILLIER, the EUPR's fisheries and transport advisors, gave listeners an insight into how the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) has led to the recovery of certain fish stocks and the efforts made by the EU to limit pollution from ships. All these representatives of France in Brussels contribute, each at their own level, to improving dialogue and understanding between the national and Community levels and to promoting France's vision, positions and interests to its European partners.
Saturday, which was devoted more to speakers from the European institutions, began with a round table on "Permanent Structured Cooperation" (PSC) with Arnaud MIGOUX, Head of Sector at the EEAS, Engineer General Yves CALECA, Armaments Advisor at the EUPR and Jean-Charles BOULAT from Naval Group. The audience was able to discover unsuspected advances in the field of defence that were inconceivable less than 10 years ago, such as the creation of the European Defence Fund (EDF) and the rise of this PSC in the operational and capability fields.
Pierre Karleskind MEP, Chairman of the European Parliament's Committee on Fisheries and Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Biodiversity and the Intercommittee on the Sea, gave a presentation on the implementation of the European Union's Integrated Maritime Policy (IMP). He gave listeners a lengthy explanation of the internal negotiation process within the Parliament, and recalled the success of the CFP. After addressing the issues of maritime safety and security, the morning ended with a rich debate with the audience on the major challenges of Brexit, particularly for the fishing industry.
The afternoon began with a round-table discussion on the "EU Maritime Security Strategy", bringing together Alexandre CHIRIC from DG Mare (the European Commission's Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs), Oren Wolf from DG Mare's EEAS (European External Action Service) and Rear-Admiral Jean-Marie L'HUISSIER, a specialist in information and communication systems. The listeners were able to reflect and debate on subjects as important and diverse as maritime cooperation between Member States, the implementation of a maritime version of permanent structured cooperation (PSC) and the interoperability of Member States' information systems.
Isabelle VIALLON, from DG Mare, had the honour of closing the session's 'Europe' mission with a debate on a sustainable maritime economy. She spoke in particular about the major issues linked to Europe's strategic autonomy, the challenge for the EU of establishing a circular economy that will enable value chains to be sustainable, and the definition of a fair balance between the climate, the protection of biodiversity and the reasoned exploitation of the seas and oceans while not creating distortions of competition at the expense of European businesses.
The day ended with General Patrick Destremau, Director of the IHEDN, presenting each student with his or her diploma and the traditional closing dinner, which was tinged with a certain nostalgia linked to the imminent separation, but also no doubt amplified by a festive atmosphere that was kept in check by the application of the barrier measures imposed by COVID 19.
