EU High Representative Josep Borrell, right, during a visit to a military base in Brzeg, Poland, last December.
The Rota naval base and the El Retín maneuver field, both in the province of Cádiz, will host the first EU exercise with locally deployed forces between the 16th and 22nd of this month (LIVEX). 1,800 soldiers from 19 Union countries will take part in the exercise. Spain, as the host country, provides the Force Headquarters (FHQ) and the majority of personnel and assets: 1,200 soldiers, two amphibious ships, a frigate, a marine infantry landing group, Harrier naval aircraft as well as transport and recognition. The Spanish ground combat group will serve as a framework for the integration of the troops of the European partners.
MILEX 23 is a military crisis management exercise that simulates a landing in a country in chaos where a stabilization mission must be deployed. Not only is it a scenario that can occur at any time in some countries in Europe’s southern neighborhood, but it also allows the interventions of naval, air, land and amphibious forces to be combined in a single exercise.
Although the big novelty is the deployment of troops on the ground – until now, European military exercises have never gone beyond paper – the main purpose of the exercise is to refine the EU’s operational planning and execution capabilities (MPCC), according to the The Strategic Compass , the document that marks Europe’s defense and security ambitions by the end of this decade, should be fully operational in 2025. It is no longer enough to lead a training and education mission like the one the EU has developed in several African countries, but to be able to deploy and lead a rapid reaction force of up to 5,000 soldiers. It is precisely the lack of its own capacity to plan and carry out combat operations that has meant that Europe has had to resort to NATO in every military crisis.
In fact, the first part of the maneuvers will take place from September 16th to October 6th in Brussels, where the response plan to a supposedly unforeseen crisis will be drawn up; In Cadiz, the European capability to deploy a deployable and interoperable multinational force on the ground will be put into practice and tested.
Military sources acknowledge that while the EU’s defense ambitions have taken a huge leap following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, economic resources are still not matching it. “The EU General Staff should be much more powerful and generously equipped if the goals of the Strategic Compass are to be achieved,” they warn. For the first time, the EU has a budget of 5 million euros to finance the “common costs” of the Milez 23 exercise, which will be borne by the European Peace Fund, which covered arms sales to Ukraine. However, each country must bear its own costs.
The celebration of the first EU maneuvers with ground troops will be one of the images of the current Spanish EU Council Presidency. Coinciding with the maneuvers, the first meeting of the EU Military Committee, made up of the chiefs of defense staff of the 27 member states, will take place on the 17th and 18th in Seville, outside Belgium. The High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Spaniard Josep Borrell, will also attend the Rota base on the 17th.
What influences the most is what happens next. So you don’t miss anything, subscribe.
Subscribe to
Subscribe to continue reading
Read without limits