On May 20 Chief of Defence of Lithuania Lt Gen Jonas Vytautas Žukas left for Brussels (Belgium) to attend meetings of the EU Military Committee and the NATO Military Committee in the coming days.
On May 21 Chief of Defence of the European Union will meet at the headquarters of the Council of the European Union. Chiefs of Defence will discuss the NATO-EU cooperation, EU military operations in the Western Balkans, off the coasts of Somali and Libya, training missions, the concept of the Single European Sky, development of military capabilities and military financial instruments of the community under the chairmanship of Chair of the Military Committee Gen Claudio Graziano.
On May 22 the 181st NATO Military Committee in Chiefs of Defence Session will take place at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels. It will open with a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg where he will provide an overview of the political context and key strategic issues currently facing the Alliance. Later NATO Chiefs of Defence will discuss way ahead of the NATO Deterrence and Defence Posture and enablement of the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) area of responsibility while presided by Royal Air Force Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart William Peach.
The final two working sessions will address Ukraine, Middle East and North Africa. Chiefs of Defence will be informed on the current security situation and the most recent development s in Ukraine, and discuss prospects of cooperation. At the meeting with their colleagues of the Mediterranean Dialogue countries they will discuss stability initiatives and defence capacity building in the Middle East and North Africa.
The European Union Military Committee (EUMC) is the top EU military institution comprised of the Chiefs of Defence of the European Union member states. The institution leads all the EU military activities - primarily planning and execution of military missions and operations and capability development in the framework of the Common Security and Defence Policy. The EUMC also provides military recommendations to the EU Policy and Security Committee responsible for shaping the Common Foreign and Security Policy. EU Chiefs of Defence attend EUMC meetings twice a year in Brussels.
The NATO Military Committee (NATO MC) is top level military command structure of NATO reporting to the North Atlantic Council, Defence Planning Committee and the Nuclear Planning Group. It takes strategic military decisions of the Alliance and shapes military advice to the North Atlantic Council which takes political-level decisions. The Committee is comprised of the Chiefs of Defence of NATO allies. Daily work at the NATO Military Committee is done by military representatives of NATO member states. It meets three times per year in NATO MC conferences, two of them is held in Brussels and one - in one of the member states on a rotational basis.
Photo credits: Sgt Spc Ieva Budzeikaitė
Spokesperson for the Chief of Defence of Lithuania Maj Mindaugas Neimontas
+370 5 278 5091, +370 682 25359, mindaugas.neimontas@mil.lt
