4.7.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 176/20

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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,

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

Whereas:

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

(2)	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.

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

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

HAS ADOPTED THIS JOINT ACTION:

Article 1

Establishment

1.   A European Security and Defence College (ESDC) is hereby established.

2.   The ESDC shall be organised as a network between the institutes, colleges, academies, universities and institutions 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’).

3.   It shall establish close links with the EU institutions and relevant EU agencies.

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 disseminate, through its training activities, best practice in relation to various ESDP issues.

Article 3

Objectives

The objectives of ESDC shall be the following:

(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);

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

(d)	to provide Member States’ administrations and staff with knowledgeable personnel familiar with EU policies, institutions and procedures; and

(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

1.   The main tasks of the ESDC are in accordance with its mission and objectives to organise and conduct training 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 Learning (IDL) System to support the ESDC training activities;

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

(d)	establish an alumni network between former training participants;

(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 bringing together relevant civilian and military actors involved in EU training in ESDP.

4.   The ESDC shall have the necessary legal capacity in particular to enter into contracts and 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.

6.   As part of the ESDC network, the European Union 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 as the ‘Secretariat’) which shall in particular assist the Steering Committee and the Executive Academic Board.

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

Article 6

Steering Committee

1.   The Steering Committee composed of one representative 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).

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

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

3.   The Committee shall be chaired by the representative of 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, representatives 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;

(d)	select the Member State(s) hosting the ESDC training activities and the institutes conducting them;

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

(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.

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

Article 7

The Executive Academic Board

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 representatives from one Member State, they shall together form a single delegation.

2.   The Chairperson of the Board shall be appointed by the Steering Committee among the members of the Board.

3.   Representatives from the SG/HR and of the Commission shall be invited to attend the meetings of the Board. Academic experts and senior officials from national and European institutions 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;

(e)	ensure general coordination of ESDC training activities among all institutes;

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

(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.

6.   The Rules of Procedure of the Board shall be adopted by the Steering Committee.

Article 8

The Secretariat

1.   The General Secretariat of the Council shall act as the Secretariat of the ESDC.

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

2.   The Secretariat shall assist the Steering Committee and the Executive Academic Board, carry out administrative and conceptual work in support of their activities, and provide support for the organisation of the ESDC training activities.

3.   The Secretariat shall in particular:

(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.

4.   The Secretariat shall closely cooperate with the Commission.

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 participation of nationals of candidate countries and, as appropriate, of third States.

2.   Participants shall be civilian and military personnel dealing with strategic aspects in the field of ESDP.

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

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.

Article 10

Cooperation

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.

Article 11

Financing

1.   Each Member State, EU institution, EU agency and 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 they provide to the Secretariat, including salaries, allowances 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.

4.   Each participant in ESDC training activities shall bear all costs related to his/her participation.

5.   For financing specific activities, in particular the development, 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.

6.   Practical arrangements for the contributions referred to in paragraph 5 shall be decided by the Steering Committee.

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 (2) 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, conference facilities, financial arrangements, management and coordination of ESDP training at EU level, and the civil-military balance within the ESDC network, to be prepared by the General Secretariat of the Council and presented by the Presidency to the Council by November 2008.

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

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 its adoption.

Article 16

Publication

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

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(1)  OJ L 194, 26.7.2005, p. 15.

(2)  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).

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