Military operations and missions, and civilian missions, are an essential component of the EU's common foreign and security policy (CFSP) and, in particular, of its common security and defence policy (CSDP). In an extremely volatile security and geopolitical environment, both at its eastern and southern borders and further afield, the EU has always sought, when launching its operations and missions abroad, to help countries and regions in crisis to restore peace, security and development. This is in the interests of their own citizens and residents as well as those of their neighbours, and is also in conformity with EU values and interests. There are currently 23 CFSP missions and operations ongoing, one of which was launched by the Council 20 years ago. Half of the military operations and missions (5 out of 10), and a quarter of the civilian missions (4 out of 16) were launched during the European Parliament's ninth term (2019 2024). The Council also launched a new hybrid type of civilian-military mission during this period, the EU security and defence initiative for countries in the Gulf of Guinea – to address the effective or potential withdrawal of EU operations and missions from Niger and Mali. The funding of missions and operations, and selection of leaders, differs between military operations and missions and civilian missions. Military operations with an 'executive' mandate allowing the use of force are in a separate category from military training missions whose mandate is not executive. The Treaty ban on using the EU budget to fund CFSP and CSDP activities having security or defence implications has meanwhile resulted in a highly complex funding architecture for these EU operations and missions. Operation and mission staff include international staff from participating Member States and some non-EU States, in addition to local staff from the deployment countries. Women are notably absent in the highest command positions of the military operations and missions, and very few have been appointed as heads of civilian missions.
Authors
- Pages
- 13
- Published in
- Belgium
Table of Contents
- Summary 1
- Introduction 2
- CSDP: Legal framework, main actors and tools 2
- Strategic Compass 2
- Funding of CFSP and CSDP expenditure 3
- European Peace Facility 3
- Voting in the Council 2
- Framework for operations and missions 3
- Definitions 3
- Leadership 3
- Staffing and efforts towards gender parity in top positions 4
- Funding 4
- Operations and missions currently active or recently closed 4
- Military operations ongoing 4
- EUNAVFOR ASPIDES (aspides means 'shields' in Greek) 4
- EUNAVFOR MED IRINI (irini means 'peace' in Greek) 5
- EUNAVFOR Atalanta 5
- EUFOR Althea (named after the Greek goddess of healing) 5
- Military missions ongoing and recently closed down 6
- EUMAM Ukraine 6
- EUTM/EUMAM Mozambique 6
- EUTM RCA 7
- EUTM Mali (closed on 19 May 2024) 7
- Civilian missions ongoing and recently closed down 8
- EU SDI for West African countries of the Gulf of Guinea 8
- EUPM Moldova 8
- EUMA (Armenia) 8
- EUAM RCA 9
- EUAM Iraq 9
- EUAM Ukraine 9
- EUCAP Sahel Mali 9
- EUBAM Libya 10
- EUCAP Somalia 10
- EUCAP Sahel Niger (closed down in 2024) 10
- EUMM Georgia 11
- EULEX Kosovo 11
- EUPOL COPPS 11
- EUBAM Rafah 11
- RACC Mauritania 12
- EUBAM Moldova-Ukraine (not technically a CSDP mission) 12
- Annex: Map showing EU military operations and missions, and civilian missions 13
