Chairman of the European Union Military Committee

The chairman has the following tasks:[1]

• Acting as the spokesperson for the EUMC
• Participating in Political and Security Committee meetings as appropriate
• Acting as the military adviser to the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR) who heads the EEAS European External Action Service
• Representing the primary point of contact with the Operation Commanders of the EU's military operations
• Attending Council meetings with defence and security implications

The relationship between the High Representative, the Military Staff and Military Committee as of November 2017:[2] Colour key:
  High Representative (a Vice-President of the Commission)
  Military Committee (EUMC; a Council body)
  Military Staff (EUMS; a Directorate-General of the External Action Service)

High Representative

Chairman EUMC

Working Group

Working Group/Headline Goal Task Force

Director General EUMS/ Director MPCC

Legal advisor

Deputy Director General

Horizontal Coordination

Assistant Chief of Staff for Synchronisation

EU cell at SHAPE

EU Liaison at the UN in NY

Assistant Chief of Staff for External Relations

NATO Permanent Liaison Team

Concepts & Capabilities Directorate

Intelligence Directorate

Operations Directorate

Logistics Directorate

Communications & Information Systems Directorate

Military Planning and Conduct Capability (MPCC) Chief of Staff Working Group Current Operations

Role in command and control of missions

Further information: Command and control structure of the European Union

The EU command and control (C2) structure, as directed by political bodies which are composed of member states's representatives and generally require unanimous decisions, as of April 2019:[3]

Liaison:       Advice and recommendations       Support and monitoring       Preparatory work     

Political strategic level:

ISS

EUCO Pres. (EUCO)

Chain of command

Coordination/support

SatCen

CIVCOM

HR/VP (FAC)

INTCEN

HR/VP (PMG)

HR/VP (PSC) (******)

CEUMC (EUMC)

CMPD

DGEUMS (***) (EUMS)

Military/civilian strategic level:

Dir MPCC (***) (MPCC)

JSCC

Civ OpCdr CPCC(*)

Operational level:

MFCdr (****) (MFHQ)

HoM (*)

Tactical level:

CC(**) Land

CC(**) Air

CC(**) Mar

Other CCs(**)

Forces

Forces

Forces

Forces

*In the event of a CSDP Civilian Mission also being in the field, the relation with the Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability (CPCC) and its Civilian Operation Commander (Civ OpCdr), as well as the subordinate Head of Mission (HoM), are coordinated as shown.

**Other Component Commanders (CCs) and service branches which may be established

***The MPCC is part of the EUMS and Dir MPCC is double-hatted as DGEUMS. Unless the MPCC is used as Operation Headquarters (OHQ), either a national OHQ offered by member states or the NATO Command Structure (NCS) would serve this purpose. In the latter instance, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe (DSACEUR), rather than Dir MPCC, would serve as Operation Commander (OpCdr).

****Unless the MPCC is used as Operation Headquarters (OHQ), the MFCdr would be known as a Force Commander (FCdr), and direct a Force Headquarters (FHQ) rather than a MFHQ. Whereas the MFHQ would act both on the operational and tactical level, the FHQ would act purely on the operational level.

*****The political strategic level is not part of the C2 structure per se, but represents the political bodies, with associated support facilities, that determine the missions' general direction. The Council determines the role of the High Representative (HR/VP), who serves as Vice-President of the European Commission, attends European Council meetings, chairs the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) and may chair the Political and Security Committee (PSC) in times of crisis. The HR/VP proposes and implements CSDP decisions.

******Same composition as Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) II, which also prepares for the CSDP-related work of the FAC.

• High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
• Director General of the European Union Military Staff
• Chairman of the NATO Military Committee
• Supreme Allied Commander Europe

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