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European Union Military Committee

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European Union Military Committee
Coat of arms
ActiveDecember 2000–present
Allegiance European Union
LocationBrussels, Belgium
Websiteeuropa.eu
Commanders
High Repr.Josep Borrell
ChairmanGeneral Robert Brieger
Insignia
Flag
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 authority of the EU's High Representative (HR) and the Political and Security Committee (PSC).

History

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The EUMC was established in December 2000 by the European Council of Nice. It 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

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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 relationship between the High Representative, the Military Staff and Military Committee as of November 2017:[1] Colour key:
  High Representative (a Vice-President of the Commission)
  Military Committee (EUMC; a Council body)
  Military Staff (EUMS; a Directorate-General of the External Action Service)

High Representative

Chairman EUMC
Working Group

Working Group/Headline Goal Task Force		Director General EUMS/
Director MPCC
Legal advisorDeputy Director General
Horizontal Coordination
Assistant Chief of Staff for SynchronisationEU cell at SHAPEEU Liaison at the UN in NYAssistant Chief of Staff for External RelationsNATO Permanent Liaison Team
Concepts & Capabilities
Directorate
Intelligence
Directorate
Operations
Directorate
Logistics
Directorate
Communications & Information Systems
Directorate
Military Planning and
Conduct Capability (MPCC)
Chief of Staff
Working Group
Current Operations


Role in command and control of missions

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Further information: Command and control structure of the European Union

The EU command and control (C2) structure is directed by political bodies composed of member states' representatives, and generally requires unanimous decisions. As of April 2019:[2]

Liaison:       Advice and recommendations       Support and monitoring       Preparatory work     
Political strategic level:[5]
ISSEUCO Pres. (EUCO)Chain of command
Coordination/support
SatCenCIVCOMHR/VP (FAC)
INTCENHR/VP (PMG)HR/VP (PSC)[6]

CEUMC (EUMC)
CMPD

DGEUMS[3] (EUMS)
Military/civilian strategic level:


Dir MPCC[3] (MPCC)		JSCCCiv OpCdr CPCC[1]
Operational level:
MFCdr[4] (MFHQ)HoM[1]
Tactical level:
CC[2] LandCC[2] AirCC[2] MarOther CCs[2]
ForcesForcesForcesForces


1 In the event of a CSDP Civilian Mission also being in the field, the relations with the Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability (CPCC) and its Civilian Operation Commander (Civ OpCdr), as well as the subordinate Head of Mission (HoM), are coordinated as shown.
2 Other Component Commanders (CCs) and service branches which may be established.
3 The MPCC is part of the EUMS and Dir MPCC is double-hatted as DGEUMS. Unless the MPCC is used as Operation Headquarters (OHQ), either a national OHQ offered by member states or the NATO Command Structure (NCS) would serve this purpose. In the latter instance, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe (DSACEUR), rather than Dir MPCC, would serve as Operation Commander (OpCdr).
4 Unless the MPCC is used as Operation Headquarters (OHQ), the MFCdr would be known as a Force Commander (FCdr), and direct a Force Headquarters (FHQ) rather than a MFHQ. Whereas the MFHQ would act both on the operational and tactical level, the FHQ would act purely on the operational level.
5 The political strategic level is not part of the C2 structure per se, but represents the political bodies, with associated support facilities, that determine the missions' general direction. The Council determines the role of the High Representative (HR/VP), who serves as Vice-President of the European Commission, attends European Council meetings, chairs the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) and may chair the Political and Security Committee (PSC) in times of crisis. The HR/VP proposes and implements CSDP decisions.
6 Same composition as Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) II, which also prepares for the CSDP-related work of the FAC.

Current EU Chiefs of Defence

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Member CHOD Member CHOD Member CHOD
Austria

Chief of the General Staff of
Austria
Major General
Rudolf Striedinger
of the
 Austrian Land Forces 		Belgium

Chief of Defence of
Belgium
General
Frederik Vansina
of the
 Belgian Air Component 		Bulgaria

Chief of Defence of
Bulgaria
Admiral
Emil Eftimov
of the
 Bulgarian Navy
Croatia

Chief of the General Staff of
Croatia
Colonel general
Tihomir Kundid
of the
 Croatian Army 		Cyprus

Chief of the General Staff of
Cyprus
Lieutenant General
Georgios Tsitsikostas
of the
 Cypriot Ground Forces 		Czech Republic

Chief of the General Staff of the
Czech Republic
Lieutenant General
Karel Řehka
of the
Czech Special Forces
Denmark

Chief of Defence of
Denmark
Major General
Michael Hyldgaard
of the
 Royal Danish Army 		Estonia

Commander of the Defence Forces of
Estonia
Major General
Andrus Merilo
of the
 Estonian Land Forces 		Finland

Chief of Defence of
Finland
General
Janne Jaakkola
of the
Finnish Army
France

Chief of the Defence Staff of
France
General
Thierry Burkhard
of the
French Army 		Germany

Inspector General of the Bundeswehr of
Germany
General
Carsten Breuer
of the
 German Army 		Greece

Chief of the General Staff of
Greece
General
Dimitrios Choupis
of the
 Hellenic Army
Hungary

Chief of the General Staff of
Hungary
Colonel General
Gábor Böröndi
of the
 Hungarian Ground Forces 		Republic of Ireland

Chief of Staff of
Ireland
Lieutenant General
Seán Clancy
of the
 Irish Air Corps 		Italy

Chief of the Defence Staff of
Italy
General
Luciano Portolano
of the
 Italian Army
Latvia

Commander of the Armed Forces of
Latvia
Lieutenant General
Leonīds Kalniņš
of the
Latvian National Guard 		Lithuania

Chief of Defence of
Lithuania
General
Raimundas Vaikšnoras
of the
 Lithuanian Land Force 		Luxembourg

Chief of Defence of
Luxembourg
General
Steve Thull
of the
 Luxembourg Army
Malta

Commander of the Armed Forces of
Malta
Brigadier
Clinton J. O'Neill
of the
Armed Forces of Malta 		Netherlands

Chief of Defence of the
Netherlands
General
Onno Eichelsheim
of the
 Royal Netherlands Air Force 		Poland

Chief of the General Staff of
Poland
General
Wiesław Kukuła
of the
Polish Territorial Defence Forces
Portugal

Chief of the General Staff of
Portugal
General
José Nunes da Fonseca
of the
 Portuguese Army 		Romania

Chief of the General Staff of
Romania
General
Gheorghiță Vlad
of the
 Romanian Land Forces 		Slovakia

Chief of the General Staff of
Slovakia
Lieutenant General
Daniel Zmeko
of the
Slovak Ground Forces
Slovenia

Chief of the General Staff of
Slovenia
Major General
Robert Glavaš
of the
Slovenian Ground Force 		Spain

Chief of the Defence Staff of
Spain
Admiral General
Teodoro Esteban López Calderón
of the
Spanish Navy 		Sweden

Supreme Commander of
Sweden
General
Michael Claesson
of the
 Swedish Army

Chairman

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Main article: Chairman of the European Union Military Committee
General Robert Brieger has been serving as EUMC Chairman since 2022

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.[3]

See also

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A similar committee also exists within the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Those countries which are members of both EU and NATO have in most cases chosen to use the same MilRep in both organisations.

References

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  1. ^ "Impetus" (PDF). eeas.europa.eu. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  2. ^ EU Command and Control, p. 13, Military Staff
  3. ^ "CONSILIUM - Chairman EUMC". www.consilium.europa.eu. Archived from the original on 2011-11-26.
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