The Military Staff of the European Union (EUMS) is the directorate-general of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...

's (EU) External Action Service (EEAS) that contributes to the EU's

Common Security and Defence Policy The Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) is the European Union's (EU) course of action in the fields of defence and crisis management, and a main component of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). The CSDP involves the dep ...

(CSDP) by providing strategic advice to the

High Representative The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR/VP) is the chief co-ordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) within the European Union (EU). The position is currently held ...

(HR/VP) and commanding operations through its

Military Planning and Conduct Capability The Military Planning and Conduct Capability (MPCC) is a permanent operational headquarters (OHQ) at the military strategic level for military operations of up to 2500 troops (i.e. the size of one battle group) deployed as part of the Common S ...

(MPCC) operational headquarters. From the end of 2020 the MPCC will also be capable of running executive operations of up to 2500 troops, i.e. the size of one battle group, as well as 3 non-executive missions. The EUMS also reports to the European Union Military Committee (EUMC), representing

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Chiefs of Defence Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the bo ...

, and performs "early warning", situation assessment and strategic planning. The EUMS currently consists of 200+ military and civilian personnel, and is located in the Kortenberg building in Brussels.

History

1993–2000: Background

The

Common Foreign and Security Policy The Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) is the organised, agreed foreign policy of the European Union (EU) for mainly security and defence diplomacy and actions. CFSP deals only with a specific part of the EU's external relations, whic ...

(CFSP) was introduced as a pillar of the EU by the Treaty of Maastricht in 1993, based on the earlier 1970

European Political Cooperation __NOTOC__ The European Political Co-operation (EPC) was introduced in 1970 and was the synonym for European Union foreign policy coordination until it was superseded by the Common Foreign and Security Policy in the Maastricht Treaty of November ...

(EPC). The CFSP was to include ‘all questions related to the security of the Union, including the eventual framing of a common defence policy, which might in time lead to a common defence’. In December 1998 the Franco-British Saint-Malo declaration stated that the EU ‘must have the capacity for autonomous action, backed up by credible military forces, the means to decide to use them, and a readiness to do so, in order to respond to international crises’. This marked a British change of course, as it previously had blocked any development of EU autonomous military capabilities. At the European Council in Cologne in June 1999 the European Security and Defence Identity (ESDI) - formed in 1996 as a project between

Western European Union The Western European Union (WEU; french: Union de l'Europe occidentale, UEO; german: Westeuropäische Union, WEU) was the international organisation and military alliance that succeeded the Western Union (WU) after the 1954 amendment of the 1948 ...

's (WEU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) - was transferred to the EU and renamed the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP). The main goal of this newly established CSDP was to deal with crisis management outside EU territory.

2001: Creation as a Council body

In 2000 and 2001 a number of

Council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

bodies were established as part of the ESDP: * Political and Security Committee (PSC), a preparatory body of

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

ial level representatives thar observes the international situation, helps to define CFSP and ESDP policies and prepares a coherent EU response to a crisis * EU Military Committee (EUMC), the Council's highest military body, composed of

, who are regularly represented by their permanent military representatives. The EUMC provides the PSC with advice and recommendations on all military matters within the EU. *European Union Military Staff (EUMS), a part of the General Secretariat whose primary task was to by EUMC's working and advisory body In 2003 the

Treaty of Nice The Treaty of Nice was signed by European leaders on 26 February 2001 and came into force on 1 February 2003. It amended the Maastricht Treaty (or the Treaty on European Union) and the Treaty of Rome (or the Treaty establishing the European C ...

provided the ESDP's legal foundation, in terms of competences, organisation, structures and assets.

2009: Transfer to the External Action Service

Upon the entry into force of the

Treaty of Lisbon The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is an international agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by the EU member sta ...

in 2009 the EUMS was transferred from the Council's General Secretariat to become a Directorate-General (DG) of the newly established

European External Action Service The European External Action Service (EEAS) is the diplomatic service and combined foreign and defence ministry of the European Union (EU). The EEAS is led by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR/VP), who is ...

(EEAS) - the EU's diplomatic service, a hybrid Council-Commission body resulting from a merger of the external relations departments of the Council and relevant international relations departments of the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

2016: Addition of the MPCC

In 2016

European Union Global Strategy The Global strategy for the foreign and security policy of the European Union, for short the European Union Global Strategy (EUGS), is the updated doctrine of the European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and e ...

was presented by HR Federica Mogherini and welcomed by the

European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body that defines the overall political direction and priorities of the European Union. It is composed of the heads of state or government of the EU member states, the President of the Eu ...

. The implementation of this strategy in the field of CSDP has included the establishment of the

(MPCC), which gives the EUMS the role of commanding operations directly.

Task

The EUMS performs a supervisory function in relation to

(CSDP) operations: *providing strategic advice to the

*reporting to the European Union Military Committee (EUMC) *performing "early warning, situation assessment and strategic planning for Petersberg tasks" and to implement CSDP missions (2001/80/CFSP, annex article 2) such as

EUFOR Althea Operation Althea, formally the European Union Force Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUFOR), is a military deployment in Bosnia and Herzegovina to oversee the military implementation of the Dayton Agreement. It is the successor to NATO's SFOR and IFOR. T ...

and the other

European Union Force The European Union (EU) has undertaken a number of overseas missions and operations, drawing on civilian and military capabilities, in several countries across three continents (Europe, Africa and Asia), as part of its Common Security and Defen ...

missions in Chad/CAR and the DR Congo. The EUMS has supervised a number of deployments since its establishment.

Structure

The EUMS is a Directorate-General of the External Action Service (EADS) that is located in the Kortenberg building in Brussels and currently consists of 200+ military and civilian personnel.

Director General

The EUMS is led by the Director General (DGEUMS, a three-star general).http://www.council-tvnewsroom.eu/video/eums-change-of-command-extract Since 2017 DGEUMS has also served as Director of the

, and as such assumes the function of the single commander for all non-executive military missions, exercising command and control over the current three training Missions and other possible future non-executive military Missions. DGEUMS is assisted by the Deputy Director General and the Chef of Staff (DDG/COS, a two-star general).

Military Planning and Conduct Capability

The Military Planning and Conduct Capability (MPCC) is an EUMS facility that provides a permanent operational headquarters at the military strategic level for military operations. The MPCC reports to the Political and Security Committee (PSC) and informing the European Union Military Committee (EUMC). Presently the MPCC may only run non-executive operations. By the end of 2020 the MPCC will also be capable of running executive operations of up to 2500 troops, i.e. the size of one battle group.https://cdn4-eeas.fpfis.tech.ec.europa.eu/cdn/farfuture/aGKF41zrLDLuNeg8csm24scxmjEwj4JBvrRbaLeaY4M/mtime:1542656575/sites/eeas/files/mpcc_factsheet_november_2018.pdf The MPCC cooperates with its existing civilian counterpart, the Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability (CPCC), through a Joint Support Coordination Cell (JSCC).

Directorates

The EUMS has five directorates, each led by a one-star commander.

Concepts and Capabilities

The Concepts and Capabilities Directorate (CON/CAP) is responsible for EUMS concepts, doctrine and the planning and development of capabilities including crisis management exercises, training, analysis and lessons learned, and for cooperation with the European Defence Agency (EDA), ensuring coherency between the EU military concepts and the crisis management procedures.

Intelligence

The Intelligence Directorate (INT) has the following tasks: *To provide intelligence input to early warning and situation assessment *To contribute to the EUMS planning through the provision of intelligence and intelligence planning expertise *To provide the intelligence input to crisis response planning and assessment for operations and exercises.

Operations

The Operations Directorate (OPS) has the following tasks: *To plan military crisis management operations, including post-launch strategic crisis response planning *To develop strategic advance and crisis response planning, including early military assessment and planning in support of informed decision making *To monitor all CSDP operations and to generate the capacity to plan and run an autonomous operation.

Logistics

The Logistics Directorate (LOG) provides administrative support, logistic planning expertise, logistic concepts, doctrine related to crisis response planning. LOG also assesses operations and exercises.

Communication and Information Systems

The Communication and Information Systems Directorate (CIS) has the following tasks: *To develop the EUMS' policies and guidance for implementation, operation and maintenance of communication and information systems, in support of CSDP activities. *To contribute to EUMS planning through the provision of CIS planning expertise at the strategic and operational level *To provide the CIS element of crisis response planning and assessment for operations and exercises.

Other units

Other units at the EUMS include: *ACOS Synchronisation unit, which assists the Chief of Staff in the coordination and synchronization of the EUMS internal processes and information flows, to facilitate and canalise the support the EUMS provides to the Chairman of the EUMC, and to support him in the preparation and management of meetings. *ACOS external relations unit, which develops policy for, and maintain the military dimension of, all EUMS' external relations in close cooperation with EEAS Management Directorates and the CMPD. This involves coordinating military-to-military cooperation with International Organisations, Strategic Partners; and Third States. The office is also responsible for all Public Information/Press Relations issues in close collaboration with the EEAS Strategic Communications Division. *EU cell at SHAPE (EUCS), a unit that prepares for EU operations having recourse to NATO common assets and capabilities under Berlin plus arrangements and to support DSACEUR in his role as a potential operational commander for an EU-led operation. It contributes to full transparency between NATO and the EU embodying their strategic partnership in crisis management.

Role in command and control of missions

References

External links

*
CSDP structure, instruments, and agencies
EEAS website
EUMS - European Union Military Staff
EU Whoiswho
''The EU Military Staff: a frog in boiling water?''
Militaire Spectator
''MPCC: towards an EU military command?''
European Union Institute for Security Studies {{National intelligence agencies