Observatory on European defence, February 2014

IN THE SPOTLIGHT : FEBRUARY 20
EU COUNCIL CONCLUSIONS ON THE SITUATION IN UKRAINE
The European Council has gathered in order to discuss about the situation in Ukraine. The Council has decided to introduce some sanctions against those responsible of violations, including asset freeze and visa-ban. Furthermore, Member States agreed to suspend export licenses on equipment which might be used for internal repression and reassess export licenses for equipment covered by Common Position 2008/944/CFSP. In addition, the European Council has called for the establishment of independent investigations into Human Rights violations, notably through the Council of Europe International Advisory Panel.

FEBRUARY 10
EU COUNCIL CONCLUSIONS ON THE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
The Council of EU has expressed its apprehension for the humanitarian and security crisis in Central African Republic. In this sense, a military operation - EUFOR RCA - aiming to stabilize the political situation within the country has been launched. The legal basis operation is the UN Security Council Resolution 2134/2014. The force will contribute to international efforts to protect the populations most at risk, creating the conditions for providing humanitarian aid. The operation headquarters will be in Larissa, Greece, while the headquarters and the troops will be located in Bangui. The Council has also appointed Major-General Philippe Pontiès as EU Operation Commander. Furthermore, it estimated the common costs of the operation at € 25.9 million for a period of up to nine months, comprising a three months preparatory phase and a mandate of up to six months.

FEBRUARY 11
A NEW STEP FOR THE EU’S MISSILE SHIELD
The US guided missile destroyer Donald Cook arrived at Rota Naval Station in Spain. It is the first out of four ballistic missile defence (BMD) capable destroyers which will be stationed at the base. They are a key component of NATO’s missile defence shield for Europe. Thanks to their advanced technologies (Aegis Radar System and SM-3 interceptor missiles), they will provide Europe with strong capabilities to protect itself against ballistic missile threats. The US Donald Cook’s deployment is part of the European Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA) program which currently involves one Aegis ship, a radar system in Turkey and a command center in Ramstein, Germany. The next steps will be the deployment of land-based interceptor batteries in Romania (expected in 2015) and Poland (expected in 2018). NATO’s missile defence system is an example of Smart Defence, which enables NATO nations to share capabilities by pooling resources to respond better to common security challenges. The system should reach full operational capability in the first half of the next decade.

FEBRUARY 21
EU DEFENCE MINISTERS SUPPORT THE WAY FORWARD FOR CSDP AND EU OPERATIONS
An informal meeting of the EU Defence Ministers has taken place in Athens, which consisted of three working sessions dedicated respectively to the follow up to the European Council on security and defence, ongoing EU operations, and the situation in the Central African Republic. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and the UN Undersecretary General for Peacekeeping Hervé Ladsous have attended parts of the meetings, too. Ministers have addressed the forthcoming launching of the EU military operation in Central African Republic (EUFOR RCA), as well as the issue of the EU Maritime Security Strategy. They have also agreed that rapid response, the support to capacity building of local and regional partners, and the development of a policy framework for more systematic and longer term defence cooperation within the EU, are key issues which have to be handled soon and effectively.

FEBRUARY 25
EUTM SOMALIA STARTS ITS TRAINING ACTIVITIES IN MOGADISHU
The EU’s military training mission for Somalia (EUTM Somalia) has started its first “Train the Trainers” course at the Jazeera Training Camp in Mogadishu. The previous day, EUTM Somalia's new Mission Commander, Brigadier General Massimo Mingiardi, was appointed by the Political Security Committee. This is the first training carried out in Mogadishu by EUTM Somalia since its redeployment from Uganda in December 2013. The training will be conducted by 16 trainers – 8 from Italy, 6 from Sweden, and 2 from Hungary. The trainees will be 60 military personnel of the Somali National Army who had been previously trained by EUTM in Uganda. The course will last four weeks and will train the trainers on infantry techniques and procedures, also including elements of International Humanitarian Law and Military Ethics. In 2014 EUTM Somalia plans to train and mentor in Mogadishu a total of 1,850 personnel of the Somali national defence forces.