Brussels, 24 March 2010 – The European Security and Defence Assembly yesterday met for an exchange of views with Lt.-General David LEAKEY, Director General of the EU Military Staff.

Referring to EUNAVFOR ATALANTA, the EU’s counter-piracy operation off the coast of Somalia, General Leakey described its success. It had reduced the number of ships taken hostage and destroyed many pirate vessels. Some pirates had been prosecuted, notably before the Kenyan courts and in the Seychelles. The operation was also an example of successful cooperation between civilians and the military, between the EU and NATO, and with some third states, specifically China, Japan and Russia. It also served humanitarian purposes by escorting ships for the World Food Programme (64) and AMISOM ships (32). Moreover an EU training mission for Somali security forces in Uganda to support the Transitional Somali Government would be fully operational at the beginning of May. It would take about a year to train around 2 000 such security force members with – and this was a first – direct cooperation from the United States.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, EUFOR ALTHEA would remain in place at least until the general election next autumn. The political atmosphere was volatile but after the election, a new political era could open up. The decision to continue operation ALTHEA was a political issue rather than a military matter and depended on whether EU member states were willing to provide troops for the operation.

On concepts, General Leakey believed developing a comprehensive approach, drawing together civilian and military capabilities, was important – but there were challenges. For example, the civ-mil approach should first exist at member-state level in order to be implemented at the European level. There were frictions between civilian and military components. The Lisbon Treaty offered a great opportunity but compartmentalisation within EU institutions should not be underestimated.

There were still shortfalls in force capabilities, such as military helicopters. In terms of rapid reaction forces, the EU Battlegroups could be considered an insurance policy, for use in a genuine emergency, but there was some willingness to make the BG more usable. They had also acted as a catalyst for the transformation of some static territorial defence forces into more expeditionary forces. In future, pooling resources such as strategic air transport or medical capabilities would be increasingly useful.

The EU Military Staff, under the authority of both the High Representative and the Military Committee, was to be part of the European External Action Service (EEAS).

The ESDA parliamentarians were also briefed by Mr Emmanuel JACOB, President of the European Organisation of Military Associations, EUROMIL. Founded in 1972 to promote the socio-professional interests of military personnel of all ranks, and of their families, EUROMIL comprises 35 national military associations and trade unions from 25 countries. National troops were increasingly taking part in multinational crisis-management missions, and in this context, Mr Jacob explained, EUROMIL had made a number of recommendations to national governments, as follows: political mandates should be closely worked out in advance of missions; they should reflect the reality of the theatre and seek to minimise national caveats. Adequate pre-deployment training at a national and multinational level should be provided and should cover language skills and cultural awareness. During missions, the right equipment (commensurate with the mission) should be available and the logistics support structure should be effective. Appropriate provision also needed to be made for medical care, both physical and psychological, and a communication network made available to ensure a permanent, virtually day-to-day link between soldiers and their families. After the mission, returning soldiers required long-term medical surveillance to prevent or cure post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Every effort should be made to facilitate the re-entry of veterans into the labour market – in the civil sector or public service – a including the establishment of employment and training schemes for seriously injured military personnel. There was a need for constant exchange of best practice.