3.4. The Civilian CSDP Compact (Crista Huisman and Deirdre Clarke Lyster

3.4. THE CIVILIAN CSDP COMPACT

by Crista Huisman and Deirdre Clarke Lyster

Following a negotiation process that lasted a year, the Civilian CSDP Compact was formally established by the Council of the EU and Member States on 19 November 2018, with the aim of strengthening the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). To be implemented by early summer 2023 at the latest, at its heart is a set of 22 coherent commitments by the Council and MS to make civilian CSDP more capable, more effective, flexible and responsive, and more joined-up with other EU instruments and with partners. Bringing together for the first time political ambition, strategic direction and the necessary capability development targets, the Compact is a milestone in civilian CSDP development that will enhance the EU’s role as a comprehensive security provider. This paper will trace the development of the Compact, highlight the key elements that make it markedly different from its predecessors, and note progress on its implementation so far.

BACKGROUND

Building on principles elaborated in Feira in 2000, civilian CSDP initially focused on areas related to policing, rule of law, civilian administration and civil protection1. Three years later, the establishment of the first EU civilian mission, the EU Police Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUPM BiH), saw the operationalisation of civilian CSDP. Civilian missions now account for eleven out of the EU’s seventeen civilian and military missions and operations across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

By 2016, the external security environment in which the civilian CSDP was conceived had evolved considerably, with new threats identified in the EU’s neighbourhood and beyond. The EU Global Strategy, adopted that year, recognised this altered security context, giving emphasis to new approaches, such as the Integrated Approach to Conflict and Crises, and new imperatives, such as the internal-external security nexus, while providing a new level of ambition in terms of the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy and, particularly, the CSDP.

In light of this new Global Strategy, policy-makers saw the need to strenghten the civilian CSDP including by expanding and deepening the foundational Feira principles (and the subsequent Civilian Headline Goals of 2008 and 2010) in order to be able to address new and emerging challenges. Following a year-long negotiation process, the Civilian CSDP Compact was formally adopted on 19 November 2018.

THE COMPACT COMMITMENTS

The Civilian CSDP Compact is structured into three parts: a) Strategic guidelines, b) Commitments by the Council and the Member States, and c) the Way Forward.

The first part, strategic guidelines, sets the political priorities. While retaining the core functions originally identified in Feira – strengthening police, rule of law and civil administration as well as security sector reform (SSR) and monitoring tasks – this initial section moves beyond these agreed principles, stressing for the first time the importance of providing support for the EU’s wider response to new and emerging security challenges. Recognising security challenges related to irregular migration, hybrid

1 Civil protection was later removed as a core CSDP task, while security sector reform (SSR) and monitoring tasks were added.

threats, cyber security, terrorism and radicalisation, organised crime, border management and maritime security, as well as preventing and countering violent extremism, and the protection of cultural heritage, the Compact will support the fulfilment of the Global Strategy’s strategic priorities.

The core of the Compact is the second part, the set of political commitments by the Council and, especially with regard to capability development, the Member States. Identifying three clusters key to strengthening civilian CSDP – (a) capabilities, (b) effectiveness, flexibility and responsiveness and (c) a joined-up approach with other EU instruments – these commitments signal a comprehensive development of civilian CSDP not undertaken since Feira.

The first cluster focuses primarily on civilian capability development (‘a more capable civilian CSDP’). Significant ambitions envisaged in these commitments include an increased contribution by MS to civilian missions and the 70% staffing of civilian Missions by EU Member States. To realise this goal, all MS committed to a review of their national procedures, through National Implementation Plans, while progress on civilian capability development is tracked through a Civilian Annual Report on Capabilities.

The second cluster (‘a more effective, flexible and responsive civilian CSDP’) aims to further strengthen the institutional framework of the civilian CSDP by focusing on key enablers such as the creation of more modular, scalable and flexible missions to enhance responsiveness, as well as the ability to deploy 200 personnel in 30 days. This cluster also includes commitments on gender and the efficient use of the CFSP budget.

To increase synergies with other stakeholders, the third cluster (‘a more joined-up civilian CSDP’) entails several commitments to further support the EU’s Integrated Approach to External Conflicts and Crises and further strengthen cooperation with third countries and partners such as the UN, OSCE and NATO. It emphasises the importance of cooperation with JHA actors, both JHA agencies and MS actors, in terms of sustainable operational output. It also calls for targeted ‘mini-concepts’ to map the possible scope of civilian CSDP efforts in specific fields, such as organised crime and maritime security.

COMPACT IMPLEMENTATION AND REVIEW

To facilitate the effective implementation of the Compact, Member States committed to developing National Implementation Plans, complemented by a Joint Action Plan agreed by the EEAS and Commission services. Progress towards implementation, which should take place as soon as possible and not later than summer 2023, is to be supported by an Annual Review Conference.

The second Annual Review Conference (ARC) took place in November 2020, and included the presentation of the Civilian Annual Report on Capa-

bilities. MS welcomed the positive overall progress in implementation of the Compact and the strong commitment to deliver on all aspects of it.

A series of ‘waypoints’ to guide the implementation of the Compact in 2021 were presented at the ARC and were subsequently endorsed by the Council. These waypoints include in particular but not exhaustively: jointly increasing the number of seconded experts to missions and increasing the representation of women, strengthening synergies between the civilian and military dimension of CSDP, exploring ways to evaluate the operational impact of the missions and promoting more joined up action, including between civilian CSDP and JHA actors (including relevant ministries, agencies and Council working parties).

RESULTS OF THE COMPACT

Only two years and a half after its adoption, the results of the Compact have already become visible. The first civilian CSDP mission to be launched under the Compact, EUAM RCA, has included key elements of the Compact such as a modular and scalable mandate, as well as a specific focus on one of the new priority challenges identified therein (hybrid threats). Work is also ongoing to strengthen the links between CSDP and JHA actors, with conceptual work on how to increase synergies with JHA agencies such as Frontex, Europol and CEPOL to form the basis for increased interactions on the ground. These efforts, based on the principle of mutual added-value, are being pursued through the mini-concepts envisaged in the Compact. Within the institutions themselves, more joint Council meetings have been organised, combining working groups dealing with the CSDP, such as PSC and CivCom, with other relevant Council working bodies such as those dealing with legal and financial matters (Relex) or those dealing with internal security (COSI and COSI Support Group).

At national level, a group of Member States has established a Centre of Excellence on Civilian Crisis Management to, inter alia, further support implementation of the Compact. In the field of capability development, all Member States are developing or have already finalised their National Implementation Plans, a process that has helped strengthen inter-ministry and inter-institutional coordination and communication. Several Member States have even already succeeded in increasing their contribution to civilian missions.

The EEAS is actively supporting national processes in a variety of ways, including by encouraging MS to share their lessons learned and good practices. Additionally, work is ongoing to centrally review CSDP recruitment policy and procedures to optimise the use of the human resources made available by Member States, to speed up recruitment and to better align with national systems. Finally, from a communications perspective, work is underway to enhance the visibility of civilian CSDP, with the aim of highlighting the work of civilian CSDP missions both in partner countries and in Member States’ national administrations.

CONCLUSION

Through the development of the Civilian CSDP Compact, the EU has affirmed its commitment to being a comprehensive security provider and has strengthened one of its unique foreign policy tools. Both strategically and operationally ambitious, the Civilian Compact is a key element of the EU’s Global Strategy, enabling it to better address new and emerging security challenges. With implementation well underway, supported by a built-in review process, and an ambitious timeline, the Civilian CSDP Compact is well on track to move from political commitment to operationalised reality by early summer 2023 at the latest.