More than 100 military and civil representatives from Member States, European institutions, international organisations as well as industry are gathering this week (21/22 June) in Brussels for a Deploy Capabilities Symposium organised by the European Defence Agency (EDA) under the auspices of the Dutch Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
The aim of the event is to raise awareness about this fundamental capability and to discuss ways towards a better coordinated EU deploy strategy and improved European capabilities in this domain.
Deployment capabilities are crucial for any mission/operation because they have to enable the effective, timely, safe and integrated transportation of military troops and assets. Because of its multi-dimensional nature (land, sea, air), deploy is characterized by extremely high operational costs, long lasting administrative procedures and vulnerability of transport assets. These elements pose enormous challenges to Member States in their efforts to provide contributions for CSDP operations; the need for coordinated movement and transportation plans and optimization of transportation resources is thus of paramount importance. Recent CSDP operations have demonstrated that the lack of an adequate level of deploy capabilities may seriously endanger not only the setting up but also the execution of the operation, including the re-deployment phases.
Jorge Domecq, the EDA’s Chief Executive, opened the symposium on Tuesday by recalling that deployability is a priority action in the Agency’s Capability Development Plan (CDP) and that several projects designed to enhance Member States’ capabilities are underway, including the European Air Transport Fleet programme as well as other projects related, for instance, to the setting up of EU multimodal transport hubs and multinational modular medical units or the sharing of spare parts.
Nevertheless, more needs to be done to further foster Europe’s deployment capabilities, Mr Domecq underlined. “They must be recognised and supported by an appropriate level of resource planning and strong political backing”, he said. Mr Domecq called on Member States to show “commitment to working together, to identifying new opportunities for pooling and sharing and to bringing added value in terms of operational effectiveness, cost reduction and long term availability of assets”.
Consultation forum and EU deployment strategy
The EDA Chief Executive also urged EU decision-makers to consider the idea of establishing a regular consultation forum to discuss and shape a pragmatic and sustainable EU strategy on deploy capabilities for CSDP. “Such a high-level consultation forum, as well as a consolidated strategy for deploy capabilities, are still missing”, Mr Domecq regretted.
Deployment cooperation with NATO has progressed in the last few months, he said, adding: “I remain determined to develop this collaboration further, with the aim of exploring possible synergies and complementarity in order to avoid unnecessary duplication whilst optimizing the best use of scarce resources. A stronger Europe makes for a stronger and more credible NATO. This also applies equally to deployability”.
Deployment capabilities are “essential” for implementing EU Global Strategy
In his welcome address, Major General Eric Schevenhoven of The Netherlands said that deployment, i.e. the ability to get military capabilities to where they are needed, was an “essential element” for the implementation of the upcoming EU Global Strategy. “As we speak, the new EU Global Strategy is nearing completion. After that, the follow-on discussion will start on how to implement the strategy. We have to think about scenarios, about which capabilities are needed and about how to overcome the shortfalls together. Deployment capabilities play an important part in this discussion. They are needed to make the EU Global Strategy viable”, he stated.
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