Council Joint Action 2008/550/CFSP of 23 June 2008 establishing a European Security and Defence College (ESDC) and repealing Joint Action 2005/575/CFSP
Date: 2008-06-23
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU office or agency, European school, European security, common foreign and security policy, common security and defence policy, operation of the Institutions, vocational training

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III

(Acts adopted under the EU Treaty)

ACTS ADOPTED UNDER TITLE V OF THE EU TREATY

COUNCIL JOINT ACTION 2008/550/CFSP

of 23 June 2008

establishing a European Security and Defence College (ESDC) and repealing Joint Action
2005/575/CFSP

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

within the European Union (EU) dealing with security and
defence policy issues and the European Union Institute for
Security Studies (hereinafter referred to as ‘institutes’).

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in
particular Article 14 thereof,

Whereas:

It shall establish close links with the EU institutions and

3.
relevant EU agencies.

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

On 18 July 2005,
the Council adopted Joint Action
2005/575/CFSP establishing a European Security and
Defence College (1).

On 21 December 2007, pursuant to Article 13 of that
Joint Action, the Steering Committee presented a report
on the activities and perspectives of the ESDC with a
view to a revision of the Joint Action.

Article 2

Mission

The ESDC shall provide training in the field of the European
Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) at the strategic level in order
to develop and promote a common understanding of ESDP
among civilian and military personnel, and to identify and
through its training activities, best practice in
disseminate,
relation to various ESDP issues.

On 18 March 2008, the Political and Security Committee
(PSC) recommended that the Council amend the Joint
Action in the light of that report.

Article 3

Objectives

The objectives of ESDC shall be the following:

For the sake of clarity, a new consolidated version of the
Joint Action should be adopted,

(a)

to further enhance the European security culture within
ESDP;

(b) to promote a better understanding of ESDP as an essential
part of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP);

HAS ADOPTED THIS JOINT ACTION:

Article 1

Establishment

A European Security and Defence College (ESDC)

1.
hereby established.

is

(c)

to provide EU instances with knowledgeable personnel able
to work efficiently on all ESDP matters;

2.
institutes,

The ESDC shall be organised as a network between the
and institutions

academies, universities

colleges,

(1) OJ L 194, 26.7.2005, p. 15.

(d) to provide Member States’ administrations and staff with
insti-

familiar with EU policies,

knowledgeable personnel
tutions and procedures; and

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(e)

to help promote professional relations and contacts among
training participants.

Where appropriate, attention should be paid to consistency with
Community activities.

Article 4

Tasks of the ESDC

The main tasks of the ESDC are in accordance with its
training

to organise and conduct

1.
mission and objectives
activities in the field of ESDP.

2.

ESDC training activities shall include:

(a)

the ESDP High Level Course;

(b) the ESDP Orientation Course; and

(c) ESDP courses for specialised audiences or with specific
focus, as decided by the Steering Committee referred to in
Article 6.

Other training activities shall be undertaken, as decided by the
Steering Committee.

3.

In addition, the ESDC shall in particular:

(a) support the relations to be established between the institutes

engaged in the network;

(b) install

and run an Internet-Based Advanced Distance
the ESDC training

Learning (IDL) System to support
activities;

(c) develop and produce training material for EU training in
ESDP also drawing on already existing relevant material;

to

and

into

enter

contracts

The ESDC shall have the necessary legal capacity in
4.
particular
administrative
arrangements and to hold a bank account. Any liability which
may arise from contracts concluded by the ESDC shall be
covered by the contributing States and other contributors as
referred to in Article 11(5). In no case may the Council,
its
Secretary-General or the General Secretariat of the Council be
held liable in respect of services provided by staff of the General
Secretariat in connection with the activities of the ESDC.

5.
The ESDC training activities shall be conducted through
the institutes forming the ESDC network or other actors of a
Member State hosting the training activity.

As part of

the ESDC network,

the European Union
6.
Institute for Security Studies (EU ISS) shall support the ESDC
training activities, in particular through EU ISS publications and
by providing lectures given by EU ISS researchers as well as by
making available its website within and for the Internet-Based
Advanced Distance Learning (IDL) System.

Article 5

Organisation

1.

The following bodies shall be set up under the ESDC:

(a) a Steering Committee which shall be responsible for the
overall coordination and direction of the training activities
of the ESDC;

(b) an Executive Academic Board which shall ensure the quality

and coherence of the training activities; and

(c) a permanent Secretariat for the ESDC (hereinafter referred to
the

as the ‘Secretariat’) which shall
in particular assist
Steering Committee and the Executive Academic Board.

(d) establish an alumni network between former training parti-

cipants;

The Steering Committee, the Executive Academic Board
2.
and the Secretariat shall carry out the tasks set out in Articles
6, 7 and 8 respectively.

(e) support exchange programmes in the field of ESDP between

the Member States’ training institutes;

(f) provide contributions to the annual EU training programme

in ESDP; and

(g) organise and conduct an annual networking conference
relevant civilian and military actors

bringing together
involved in EU training in ESDP.

Article 6

Steering Committee

The Steering Committee composed of one representative
1.
appointed by each Member State, shall be the decision-making
body of the ESDC. Each member of the Committee may be
represented or
accompanied by an alternate. Letters of
appointment, duly authorised by the Member State, shall be
directed to the Secretary-General/High Representative (SG/HR).

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Representatives from acceding States may attend its meetings as
active observers.

Article 7

The Executive Academic Board

2. Members of the Steering Committee may be accompanied
by experts.

The Committee shall be chaired by the representative of
3.
the Member State holding the Council Presidency and shall meet
at least twice a year. The Chairman of the Steering Committee
shall be empowered to represent the ESDC in particular for the
purpose of concluding contracts as referred to in Article 4(4).

4.
The Chairperson of the Executive Academic Board, repre-
sentatives of the SG/HR and of the Commission shall be invited
to attend the meetings of the Committee.

5.

The tasks of the Committee shall be to:

(a) establish the annual academic programme of

the ESDC,

drawing on the ESDC training concept;

(b) provide overall guidance to the work of

the Executive

Academic Board;

(c) adopt and keep under regular review the ESDC training
concept reflecting the agreed ESDP training requirements;

1.
The Executive Academic Board shall be composed of
senior representatives from those institutes which are actively
engaged in the ESDC activities. Where there are several repre-
sentatives from one Member State, they shall together form a
single delegation.

The Chairperson of the Board shall be appointed by the

2.
Steering Committee among the members of the Board.

Representatives from the SG/HR and of the Commission
3.
shall be invited to attend the meetings of the Board. Academic
experts and senior officials from national and European insti-
tutions may be invited to attend its meetings.

4.

The tasks of the Board shall be to:

(a) provide academic advice and recommendations

to the

Steering Committee;

(b) implement,

through the

institutes

forming the ESDC

network, the agreed annual academic programme;

(c) oversee the Internet-Based Advanced Distanced Learning

(IDL) System;

(d) develop detailed curricula for all ESDC training activities

building on the agreed outline curricula;

(d) select

the Member State(s) hosting the ESDC training

activities and the institutes conducting them;

(e) ensure general coordination of ESDC training activities

among all institutes;

(e) develop and agree the outline curricula for all ESDC training

activities;

(f)

review standards of the training activities undertaken in the
previous academic year;

(f) adopt evaluation reports and a general annual report on
ESDC training activities, to be forwarded to the relevant
Council bodies; and

(g) appoint the Chairperson of the Executive Academic Board

for a period of at least two academic years.

6.

The Committee shall adopt its Rules of Procedure.

Decisions of the Committee shall be taken by qualified
7.
majority. The votes of the Member States shall be weighted in
accordance with Article 205(2) of the Treaty establishing the
European Community. For
shall
require the number of votes provided in the third subparagraph
of Article 23(2) of the Treaty on European Union.

their adoption, decisions

(g) submit to the Steering Committee proposals for training

activities in the next academic year;

(h) ensure a systematic evaluation of all ESDC training activities;

and

(i) contribute to the draft general annual report on ESDC

activities.

5.
To fulfil its tasks, the Board may meet in different project-
orientated configurations. The Board shall draw up the rules and
arrangements governing the creation and functioning of these
configurations to be agreed by the Steering Committee.

The Rules of Procedure of the Board shall be adopted by

6.
the Steering Committee.

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Article 8

The Secretariat

The General Secretariat of the Council shall act as the

1.
Secretariat of the ESDC.

inter alia,

international organisations, non-
Representatives of,
governmental organisations, academic
institutions and the
media, as well as members of the business community, may
be invited to participate in ESDC training activities.

Staff shall be provided by the General Secretariat of the Council,
Member States and the institutes forming the ESDC network.

3.
A certificate signed by the SG/HR shall be awarded to a
participant who has completed an ESDC course. The modalities
of the certificate shall be decided by the Steering Committee.
The certificate shall be recognised by the Member States and by
the EU institutions.

The Secretariat shall assist the Steering Committee and the
and
their activities, and provide

2.
Executive Academic Board,
conceptual work in support of
support for the organisation of the ESDC training activities.

administrative

carry out

Article 10

Cooperation

3.

The Secretariat shall in particular:

The ESDC shall cooperate with and draw on the expertise of
international organisations and other relevant actors, such as
national training institutes of third States.

(a) be responsible for the administration and coordination of

the ESDC’s work and training programme; and

(b) be the main point of contact for the institutes and other
bodies engaged in the college network as well as for
external entities and the public.

A staff member of the Secretariat shall act as Head of the ESDC
and could also act as director of the ESDP High Level Course.

The
4.
Commission.

Secretariat

shall

closely

cooperate with

the

Each institute forming the ESDC network shall designate a point
of contact with the Secretariat to deal with the organisational
and administrative issues connected with the organisation of the
ESDC training activities.

Article 9

Participation in the ESDC training activities

1.
All ESDC training activities shall be open to participation
by nationals of all Member States and acceding States. The
organising and conducting institutes shall ensure that
this
principle applies without any exception.

The ESDC training activities shall in principle be open to parti-
cipation of nationals of candidate countries and, as appropriate,
of third States.

Article 11

Financing

Each Member State, EU institution, EU agency and
1.
institute forming the ESDC network shall bear all costs related
to its participation in ESDC, including salaries, allowances, travel
and subsistence expenses and costs related to organisational and
administrative support of the ESDC training activities.

2. Member States and the institutes
forming the ESDC
network shall each bear the costs related to the personnel
including salaries, allowances
they provide to the Secretariat,
and travel and subsistence
expenses and accommodation
expenses when on mission.

3.
The General Secretariat of the Council shall bear all costs
arising from and related to its tasks as set out in Article 8,
including the personnel it provides.

Each participant in ESDC training activities shall bear all

4.
costs related to his/her participation.

5.
For financing specific activities, in particular the develop-
ment, setting up and running of information system networks
or applications for the ESDC, as referred to in Article 4(3),
voluntary contributions by Member States
and institutes
forming the ESDC network shall be managed by the General
Secretariat of the Council as earmarked revenue.

Participants shall be civilian and military personnel dealing

2.
with strategic aspects in the field of ESDP.

Practical arrangements for the contributions referred to in

6.
paragraph 5 shall be decided by the Steering Committee.

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Article 12

Security regulations
The Council’s security regulations set out in Council Decision
2001/264/EC of 19 March 2001 adopting the Council’s security
regulations (1) shall apply to the ESDC activities.

Article 13

Review

This Joint Action shall be reviewed and revised as appropriate in
the light of a study on the future perspectives of the ESDC and
their possible implications. The study shall also address aspects
such as the Secretariat, staff capacities, running of
the IDL
system,
arrangements,
management and coordination of ESDP training at EU level,
and the civil-military balance within the ESDC network, to be
the Council and
prepared by the General Secretariat of
presented by the Presidency to the Council by November 2008.

conference

facilities,

financial

Article 14

Repeal

Council Joint Action 2005/575/CFSP is hereby repealed.

Article 15

Entry into force

This Joint Action shall enter into force on the day of
adoption.

its

Article 16

Publication
This Joint Action shall be published in the Official Journal of the
European Union.

Done at Luxembourg, 23 June 2008.

In addition this Joint Action shall be reviewed and revised as
appropriate no later than 31 December 2011.

For the Council
The President

I. JARC

(1) OJ L 101, 11.4.2001, p. 1. Decision as last amended by Decision

2007/438/EC (OJ L 164, 26.6.2007, p. 24).