European Union Military Committee
| European Union Military Committee | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
| Active | December 2000–present |
| Allegiance |
 |
| Location | Brussels, Belgium |
| Website | europa.eu |
| Commanders | |
| High Repr. | Federica Mogherini |
| Chairman | General Michail Kostarakos |
| Insignia | |
| Flag |
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| Chairman's arms |
 |
The Military Committee of the European Union (EUMC) is the body of the European Union's (EU) Common Security and Defence Policy that is composed of member states' Chiefs of Defence (CHOD). These national CHODs are regularly represented in the EUMC in Brussels by their permanent Military Representatives (MilRep), who often are two- or three-star flag officers.
The EUMC is under the under authority of the EU's High Representative (HR) and the Political and Security Committee (PSC).
History
The EUMC was formally established in December 2000 by the European Council of Nice, and is one of several defence and security-related bodies established as a result of the Helsinki Headline Goal, which was decided in December 1999.
Function
The EUMC gives military advice to the EU's High Representative (HR) and Political and Security Committee (PSC). The EUMC also oversees the European Union Military Staff (EUMS).
The CSDP command structure involving the High Representative, the Military Staff and Military Committee as of 1 November 2017:[1]
Colour key:
High Representative (a Vice-President of the Commission)
| High Representative | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Military Committee Chairman  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Working Group | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Working Group/Headline Goal Task Force | Military Staff Director General | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Legal advisor | Deputy Director General | Horizontal Coordination | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assistant Chief of Staff for Synchronisation | EU cell at SHAPE | EU Liaison at the UN in NY | Assistant Chief of Staff for External Relations | NATO Permanent Liaison Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Directorate A: Concepts & Capabilities | Directorate B: Intelligence | Directorate C: Operations | Directorate D: Logistics | Directorate E: Communications & Information Systems | Military Planning and Conduct Capability
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chairman
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The EUMC is chaired by a General Officer, Admiral, or Air Officer of four-star level (i.e. NATO OF-9 equivalent) who is selected by the Chiefs of Defence and appointed by the Council of the European Union. For a term of three years the Chairman is the spokesperson for the EUMC, he participates in PSC meetings as appropriate, he is the military adviser to the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR) who heads the EEAS European External Action Service, he represents the primary point of contact with the Operation Commanders of the EU's military operations and he attends Council meetings with defence and security implications.[2]
See also
- Common Security and Defence Policy
- European External Action Service
- Military of the European Union
- Political and Security Committee
- European Union Military Staff
A similar committee also exists within the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), and those countries which are members of both EU and NATO have in most cases chosen to use the same MilRep in both organisations.
References
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to European Union Military Committee. |
- CSDP structure, instruments, and agencies, EEAS website
- Mai'a K. Davis Cross: "The Military Dimension of European Security: An Epistemic Community Approach." (2013) Millennium Journal of International Studies, 42(1): 45-64.