Civilian CSDP compact

CONCLUSIONS OF THE COUNCIL AND OF THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE MEMBER STATES, MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL, ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A CIVILIAN CSDP COMPACT

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE MEMBER STATES, MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL,

UNDERLINING their concern about the worsening of the European Union’s strategic environment, including the emergence and escalation of conflicts around the Union and the persistence of instability and transnational threats and challenges;

RECALLING also the commitment of the European Union and its Member States to the promotion of a rules-based global order with multilateralism as its key principle and the United Nations at its core;

EMPHASISING the continued need to strengthen the EU’s role and capacity to act as a security provider through the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP);

RECALLING that the European Union’s unique strength in managing and preventing crises lies in its ability to deploy both civilian and military assets and capabilities as part of a wider EU integrated approach to external conflicts and crises;

ACKNOWLEDGING the contribution to international peace and security made by the total of 22 civilian CSDP missions which have been deployed since 2003, including ten currently in the field, and EXPRESSING their gratitude to the men and women serving in these missions;

DETERMINED to take a qualitative and quantitative leap forward in civilian CSDP as called for in the Council conclusions of May 2018, in the framework of the implementation of the Global Strategy on EU Foreign and Security Policy, towards fulfilling the Level of Ambition of November 2016;

CONSIDERING that CSDP provides the Union with an operational capacity drawing on civilian and military assets from the Member States and thus UNDERLINING that strengthening the civilian CSDP requires Member States to develop the required capabilities;

NOTING that the European Council has repeatedly underlined that Europeans must take greater responsibility for their security;

AGREE to this Civilian CSDP Compact, which contains strategic guidelines for the strengthening of civilian CSDP as well as commitments by the Council and the Member States, and proposals for actions, aiming to achieving these aims.

I. STRATEGIC GUIDELINES

HIGHLIGHT that this Compact should lead to a more capable, more effective, and more joined up civilian CSDP;

AGREE that such a strengthened EU capacity to deploy civilian crisis management missions will:

– Contribute to achieving the EU Global Strategy’s five strategic priorities: the security of the Union, the resilience of states and societies in neighbouring and surrounding regions, an integrated approach to external conflicts and crises, cooperative regional orders, and global governance fit for the 21st century;

– Contribute to the fulfilment of the EU level of ambition and its three strategic priorities in the area of security and defence, as agreed by the Council in November 2016, namely to respond to external conflicts and crises, to build the capacities of partners, and to protect the Union and its citizens, by performing the CSDP tasks set out in the Treaty on European Union (TEU);

– Focus on the Feira priorities of strengthening police, rule of law and civil administration in fragile and conflict settings as its core functions, underling as well the importance of Security Sector Reform (SSR) and monitoring tasks;

– Respond with speed and determination to particular situations throughout the entire conflict cycle, with particular emphasis on stabilisation as well as prevention, based on EU priorities for external action and assessed needs and requirements of the host country;

– Contribute also to the EU’s wider response to tackle security challenges, including those linked to irregular migration, hybrid threats, cyber security, terrorism and radicalisation, organised crime, border management and maritime security, as well as preventing and countering violent extremism, also taking into account the need to preserve and protect cultural heritage;

– Contribute significantly to the resilience and security of partner countries while ensuring the ownership of the host country to achieve effective and sustainable results;

– Work effectively together with relevant international partner organisation and other EU instruments as part of a joined-up European approach, based on civil-military synergies within CSDP as well as close cooperation with the Commission services and other relevant EU actors as part of the EU’s integrated approach to conflicts and crises with a view to coherence and coordination with the wider EU engagement, including developmental, stabilisation, humanitarian and political dimensions;

– Cooperate where appropriate with the Commission services and JHA actors with a view to tackling threats and challenges across the internal-external nexus and enhance synergies and coherence also in the development of capabilities;

– Mainstream human rights and gender into all activities and ensuring compliance with international law, in particular international human rights law, international criminal law, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, refugee law and humanitarian law, taking fully into account the UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security and subsequent resolutions, and the protection of civilians, throughout the planning and operational phases of the missions, as well as respecting the Responsibility to Protect;

– Continue to enhance the visibility of civilian CSDP and its contribution to the security of Europeans and our partners.

II. COMMITMENTS

The COUNCIL and the MEMBER STATES commit to:

A more capable civilian CSDP.

1. Provide an increased contribution to civilian CSDP – which can take the form of personnel, equipment, training, exercise support, financial contributions or otherwise – on an individual or joint basis and based on individual national implementation plans.

2. Review national procedures such as decision-making, financing and legislation, where appropriate, in order to enhance availability and participation of national experts in civilian CSDP missions, for example by better integrating their participation in career paths.

3. Increase jointly the number of seconded experts in the missions, aiming to raise the total share of seconded experts to at least 70 percent of the international mission staff, prioritising seconded staff on operational positions, while continuing to promote the effectiveness of the missions.

4. Develop and provide the capabilities required for the Union to undertake the full range of civilian crisis management missions, with:

a. The core capability categories as originally defined in Feira in 2000 of police, rule of law, civilian administration, as well as security sector reform and monitoring.

b. The capability needs, within these core categories, related to the EU’s wider response to tackle security challenges - building on the Concept Paper and the Civilian Capability Development Plan.

c. Mission support capabilities (e.g. security, IT, medical care and communication) and generic capability needs (e.g. reporting, strategic communication and management skills).

d. Cross cutting areas such as human rights and gender/WPS.

5. Train their national experts pre- and in-mission in accordance with the CSDP Training Policy, as agreed by the Council, and the guidance also given by the EU Civilian Training Group to enhance cooperation and synergies in training at EU level, including mission relevant language training and specific training needs in new security challenges, and seizing opportunities offered by the recognised training providers in coherence and continuity with relevant EU instruments.

6. Make available on a voluntary and inclusive basis, specialised teams that are limited in scope, time and size and that correspond to the needs of civilian CSDP and are able to respond, where agreed, at short notice to developments on the ground.

7. Make available and utilise, where agreed, national or multinational structures and facilities that will help support the strengthening of civilian CSDP in full complementarity with and in support of existing EU structures.

A more effective, flexible and responsive civilian CSDP.

8. Deploy civilian CSDP missions with modular and scalable mandates within the scope of Art. 42 and 43 TEU, including, where appropriate, executive or semi-executive tasks under agreed conditions. Such mandates should allow for activation of additional tasks, projects or modules within the scope and objectives of the missions, upon PSC decision where applicable and subject to strategic analysis, with due consideration for the crisis management procedures. Mission mandates and their duration should be aligned with Mission objectives and the situation on the ground and could be, where relevant, longer and multi-annual, based on a Council decision.

9. Promote and encourage swifter operational decision-making for civilian missions: reducing the time that it takes to deploy on the ground and enabling effective and flexible conduct. Deployment and adaptation or addition of tasks and postures should be based on an early assessment of needs and related cost implications. Review and streamline where possible planning and decision-making steps, in preparation and implementation of political agreement by the Council to deploy the mission as well as mission management during the conduct phase.

10. Enhance Human Resources management by inter alia:

a. Inviting the High Representative to review the EEAS recruitment policy and procedures for the missions in close coordination with Members States, so as to optimise the use of the human resources made available by Member States, to speed up recruitment and to better align EEAS and national procedures.

b. Inviting the High Representative to work together with the Commission services, the Council and the Member States on the review of the employment status of international contractual staff.

c. Reviewing the Code of Conduct and Discipline for civilian CSDP missions, based on a proposal by the High Representative.

11. Be able to launch a new mission of up to 200 personnel in any area of operation within 30 days after a Council decision, with all the necessary equipment provided by the Strategic Warehouse in line with the multi-layered approach and Core Responsiveness Capacity. Where agreed, specialised teams and multinational formations such as the European Gendarmerie Force can be used to contribute to this goal.

12. Further enhance responsiveness by:

a. Fully staffing the Core Responsiveness Capacity and increasing its number up to 50 experts, available for quick deployment.

b. Achieving full operational capability for the Strategic Warehouse in the spring of 2019 in line with its terms of reference.

c. Reinforcing mission support resources both at HQ level, including the Mission Support Platform, and in the field as needed, and on the basis of an assessment.

13. Identify targeted operational benchmarks in operational planning documents to monitor and measure results and progress towards a well-defined end state and transition strategy. Carry out the evaluation of the operational impact of missions, taking into account the financial aspects, in order to identify best practices and possible improvements in mission management.

14. Strengthen efforts within the framework of the EU Integrated Approach, to ensure ownership and buy-in at local and regional level in order to achieve effective and sustainable results.

15. Work with the Commission to ensure a robust CFSP budget, and its rapid, flexible and efficient use to support new and ongoing civilian crisis management missions, in order to respond to the new level of ambition. This would allow for multi-annual forecasts and prioritisation, while also maximising synergies with complementary funding from the EU budget. Invite the High Representative and the Commission to explore, in full respect of their respective mandates and budgets, concrete incentives to support Member States in their capability development including by considering synergies with or contributions from relevant EU instruments in addition to the CFSP budget.

16. Provide a more in-depth and systematic mainstreaming of human rights and gender aspects in all civilian CSDP missions, including by appointing as a general rule dedicated advisers in gender and human rights. Actively promoting an increase in the representation of women among international experts at all levels of the mission, based on increased national contributions and in line with agreed EU and international policies and guidelines.

A more joined up civilian CSDP

17. Strengthen shared analysis and situational awareness with relevant EU actors.

18. Implement a more integrated approach in programming and implementation of crisis response actions, stabilisation activities and development cooperation actions on the ground, and invite the Commission and the High Representative, as appropriate, to present concrete proposals in this regard. Civilian CSDP missions, other CFSP actors and development actors, taking into account the European Consensus on Development, should seek synergies and implement actions in a fully coordinated and mutually reinforcing manner, including with a view to increase resilience and effective transition strategies.

19. Foster synergies and complementarity between the civilian and military dimensions of CSDP, including in areas of capability development and the operational planning and conduct of missions deployed in the same theatre, in particular in mission support.

20. Promote closer mutually reinforcing cooperation and synergies between civilian CSDP missions, Commission services and JHA actors, building on their respective unique roles and within their mandates, as well as added value, from strategic planning to operational conduct and information sharing, including by strengthening the JHA related expertise within relevant CSDP structures. This also includes involving, where appropriate, Commission services and JHA actors in consultations, concept development, planning, assessments and evaluation in full respect of the institutional framework.

21. Ensure operational output of such CSDP-JHA cooperation on the basis of their respective mandates by considering where appropriate new lines of operations or pilot projects in new or ongoing CSDP missions, also building on targeted mini-concepts, in response to local needs and in cooperation with the relevant Commission services and JHA actors. Pilot projects should also take into consideration the three priorities of the Level of Ambition as set out by the Council, focussing on building and strengthening the capacity of partners to prevent conflict, build peace and address pre- and post-crisis needs, and be implemented in line with the crisis management procedures.

22. Intensify cooperation with countries hosting CSDP missions as well as enhancing mutually beneficial partnerships with partner countries and organisations in particular the UN, NATO and OSCE, as well as AU and ASEAN on common issues of policy and standards. Promote contributions of Third States to civilian CSDP missions on a case by case basis and support further cooperation with them to this end according to agreed procedures.

III. WAY FORWARD

The COUNCIL and the MEMBER STATES invite the High Representative and the Commission to support the implementation of the above commitments in full compliance with the applicable legal framework and the mandates of the different Union actors, within the current and future CFSP Financial Programming ceilings and in consultation with Member States.

The COUNCIL and the MEMBER STATES agree to:

– Invite the High Representative and the Commission to present a joint EEAS/Commission Action Plan by early spring 2019, laying out concrete steps to be taken by the Union institutions to contribute to a coherent implementation of this Compact. It should, inter alia, include proposals by the High Representative for improving operational aspects of civilian CSDP;

– Develop National Implementation Plans, based on an indicative template, initiating a dynamic and interactive process at national level;

– Launch an annual process to review the progress made in implementation of the Compact based on the National Implementation Plans by the Member States and the joint EEAS/Commission Action Plan. This would include a Civilian Annual Report on Capabilities to be provided by the European External Action Service. The review should identify capability gaps, and help address them through a cooperative effort between the EU and Member States, as well as among Member States. It should support Member States in improving the availability of capabilities required, including by the sharing of best practices and lessons learned and be linked with discussions on the CFSP budget;

– Hold a first Annual Conference on Civilian CSDP in the second semester of 2019 to take stock of progress and identify priorities for the work ahead;

– Support the launch and implementation of the Civilian CSDP Compact with a comprehensive communication strategy;

– Fully deliver on this Compact as soon as possible, by early summer 2023 at the latest.