HANDBOOK ON CSDP
7.2. TRAINING FOR PARTNERSHIPS
European Security and Defence College/Protsko Nikita
by Jochen Rehrl
Close cooperation with TAIEX (Western Balkans) and DG NEAR (Eastern Partnership) assured high quality training for real-time training needs in the field of security and defence for EU partners
The European Union sees multilateralism and partnerships as core principles when it comes to external action. Therefore, both multilateral organisations and partners around Europe receive priority treatment, which should lead to mutually beneficial and spill-over effects in other areas as well. The main partnership areas are the ‘Eastern Partnership’ (EaP) with its six members1, the Western Balkans (WB) with another six partners2 and the ‘Union of the Mediterranean’ with 15 non-EU countries3. In the area of training and education, the latter are focused on the Euro-Mediterranean University, which was inaugurated in Slovenia in June 2008, and other non-defence-related issues.
Demand-driven training programmes have been established for the remaining two regional partnerships (EaP and WB). Common features of the two programmes include their security and defence dimension, their inclusiveness (open to all EU Member States and partners) and the fact that they are conducted under the auspices of the European Security and Defence College (ESDC). At the end of the day, our partners should be ready to join our efforts in crisis management using civilian and military instruments around the world.
CSDP TRAINING PROGRAMME FOR THE WESTERN BALKANS The EU has close links with the countries of the Western Balkans. The Union aims to secure stable, prosperous and well-functioning democratic societies on a steady path towards EU integration. In 2006, Austria, Germany, Hungary and Slovenia established a training programme which should help the countries of the region to prepare for accession talks and in particular for the negotiation of chapter 31 (foreign, security and defence policy) of the Union acquis. The Western Balkans is the region in which the common security and defence policy (CSDP) made its first operational footprint in 2003 with its first CSDP missions (EUPM, EUPOL Proxima) and operations (Concordia). Since then, the EU has
1 Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine 2 Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia 3 Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Palestine, Syria (suspended), Tunisia and Turkey.
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