Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP): EU strengthens its civilian missions to better respond to crises around the world

Today the Council and its member states have agreed on a new Civilian CSDP Compact, a key deliverable from the Strategic Compass approved in March 2022.

More than 2 200 women and men work in 13 civilian missions across three continents. They react to a variety of situations from monitoring crises, strengthening partner countries’ capacities, to supporting the work of the police or the judiciary. Their role is crucial. With the new Compact, we will make our missions more effective by acting faster, securing against new and emerging threats, investing in more and better civilian capabilities, and cooperating more with our partners.

Josep Borrell, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

The Compact aims to strengthen the civilian side of the Common Security and Defence Policy and enhance the civilian missions’ effectiveness, impact, flexibility, and robustness. This will enable them to tackle more efficiently current, emerging, and future security challenges. The Compact will also allow the EU to face more effectively the current geopolitical environment marked by the return of war to Europe with Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine.

The EU is committed to raising the political visibility of civilian CSDP, including through annual discussions at ministerial level, as well as the understanding of its contribution to the security of European citizens, local communities, and EU’s partners.

The EU also plans to be ready to deploy 200 civilian experts within 30 days, when needed, including in complex environments.

The new Compact includes concrete commitments to have strengthened headquarters for civilian missions, strengthen the resilience of host states and related missions, enhance synergies with other EU instruments under the Integrated Approach to Conflicts and Crises and promote coordination and cooperation with justice and home affairs (JHA) and other relevant EU actors and partners. It also aims at investing further in the necessary capabilities aiming to increase the number of seconded experts across all missions and all levels aiming to reach at least 40% women’s participation and 100% seconded staff in operational positions.

A civilian capability development process will be set-up to assess the capability needs, develop requirements, conduct a gap analysis and review periodically the progress made in line with the new Civilian CSDP Compact.

Background

The new Civilian CSDP Compact builds on the first Compact adopted in November 2018. Through the first Compact the EU has strengthened its capacity to deploy and sustain civilian crisis management missions. These missions aim to reinforce the police, rule of law and civil administration in fragile and conflict settings.

The EU currently runs 13 civilian missions on 3 continents:

• the European Union Advisory Mission in Iraq (EUAM Iraq)
• the European Union Integrated Border Management Assistance Mission in Libya (EUBAM Libya)
• the European Union Border Assistance Mission for the Rafah crossing point (EUBAM Rafah)
• the European Union Police and Rule of Law Mission for the Occupied Palestinian Territory (EUPOL COPPS)
• the European Union Advisory Mission in Central African Republic (EUAM RCA)
• the European Union Capacity Building Mission in Mali (EUCAP Sahel Mali)
• the European Union Capacity Building Mission in Niger (EUCAP Sahel Niger)
• the European Union Capacity Building Mission in Somalia (EUCAP Sahel Somalia)
• the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX)
• the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM Georgia)
• the European Union Advisory Mission Ukraine (EUAM Ukraine),
• the EU Mission in Armenia (EUM Armenia),
• and the recently established EU Partnership Mission in the Republic of Moldova (EUPM Moldova)