On October 24-25 Chief of Defence of Lithuania Lieutenant General Jonas Vytautas Žukas took part in the second European Union Military Committee meeting of this year in Brussels, Belgium. The Chiefs of Defence session took place at the European Council HQ.
On October 24 EU Chiefs of Defence were briefed on the challenges and results of EU military operations Althea, ATALANTA, and Sophia, and the EU training missions in the Central African Republic, Mali, and Somalia. Then possibilities to further develop the operations and missions were discussed under the chairmanship of the EU Military Committee Chairman Mikhail Kostarakos.
On October 25 the EU Chiefs of Defence were updated on the EU-NATO cooperation - mobility and readiness to respond to hybrid and cyber threats. Then they shared insights on the matter and opportunities to enhance the cooperation with Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, Chairman of NATO's Military Committee, and other high-ranking NATO attendees.
The EU Chiefs of Defence discussed EU military cooperation in a session on interoperability with partners of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Serbia, Republics of Montenegro and Vietnam, and South Korea, as well as the joint efforts to take part in European military operations and training missions.
A discussion by the EU Chiefs of Defence on the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD) and on the proposals for the second stage of the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) in defence area followed, they also received the most recent information on the European Defence Fund (EDF).
And finally, the Chiefs of Defence discussed the future EU command and control structure and the situation of migration.
In the end of the meeting Chairman General Mikhail Kostarakos transferred the duties to former Chief of Defence of Italy General Claudio Graziano who will hold the office as of November 6.
The EU Military Committee is the highest military institution of the European Union made up of the Chiefs of Defence of the EU member countries. The Committee has been in force since 2001 leading military actions of the EU, primarily, planning and conduct of military mission and operations of the Common Security and Defence Policy and development of military capabilities, and rendering military advice to the EU Political and Security Committee in charge of common Foreign and Security Policy of the Union. The NATO Chiefs of Defence convene for the EUMC meetings twice a year.
Photo credits: EU organisers team (https://bit.ly/2CCZnHM)
Spokesperson for the Chief of Defence of Lithuania Major Mindaugas Neimontas
+370 5 278 5091, +370 682 25359, mindaugas.neimontas@mil.lt
