Observatory on European defence, October 2014

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: 1 OCTOBER
JENS STOLTENBERG NEW NATO SECRETARY GENERAL
Jens Stoltenberg has officially taken up office as NATO Secretary General, after being appointed by the 28 members of the Atlantic Council in March. Former Norwegian Prime Minister in the periods 2000-2001 and 2005-2013, he succeeds Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who served as NATO Secretary General from 2009 until September of this year.

9 OCTOBER
NEW HEAD OF MISSION FOR EULEX KOSOVO
Gabriele Meucci has been appointed new Head of Mission of EULEX Kosovo by the EU Political and Security Committee. The mission aims at supporting the Kosovo authorities in reconstructing the rule of law area, with a particular focus on police, judiciary and custom agencies. Meucci is the successor of Bernd Borchardt, who held the same position since February 2013 until September of this year.

9 OCTOBER
NEW MISSION COMMANDER FOR EUTM MALI
Brigadier General Alfonso García-Vaquero Pradal has been appointed Mission Commander of the EU training mission in Mali (EUTM Mali). He succeeds Brigadier General Marc Rudkiewicz, who had taken up office in March 2014. The mission, started in February 2013, supports the training and reorganization of the Malian Arm Forces.

16 OCTOBER
EU AND JAPAN HOLD JOINT COUNTER-PIRACY EXERCISE
The European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia-Operation Atalanta and the Japan's Self-Defence Forces (SDF) have participated to the first joint counter-piracy exercise in the Gulf of Aden. Through the deployment of the Italian Navy Destroyer “ANDREA DORIA” of the EU NAVFOR-Atalanta and the Japanese Destroyer “Takanami”, the joint exercise has contributed to improve the interoperability and the mutual knowledge of the armed forces. Communication technologies, tactical manoeuvring, flying operations and boarding team were tested during the exercise.

20 OCTOBER
EU SANCTIONS AGAINST SYRIAN REGIME STRENGTHENED
The Council of the European Union has recognized fourteen people as responsible of violent repressions against civilians in Syria, where a violent civil war has been plaguing the country since 2011. Two more people and two entities have been blamed to give practical support to the Syrian regime. As a result of that, they have been subjected to travel ban and asset freeze. Consequently, the number of those under EU sanctioned has increased to 211 people and 63 entities.

27 OCTOBER
EUROPEAN MARITIME SURVEILLANCE NETWORK REACHES OPERATIONAL STATUS
The European project Maritime Surveillance (Marsur), developed by EDA since 2006, has reached its full operational status. Marsur is a technical solution which should enhance the communication between the European maritime informative systems on maritime operations and procedures. It involves 17 Member States plus Norway. Each state is in charge of collecting and distributing the information received by other countries, as well as harmonizing the whole network.

30 OCTOBER
EU EXTENDS RESTRICTIVE MEASURES AGAINST BELARUS
The Council of European Union has extended the restrictive measures already in place against Belarus until 31 October 2015, as a consequence of the still unresolved issues pertaining the release of political prisoners and severe human rights violations in the Eastern European country. The sanctions entail an arms embargo and limitations on import of all instruments for internal repression. Finally, those responsible of human rights violation have been subjected to asset freeze and travel ban.