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Defence Staff's chief at EU's Military Committee which addressed situation in Sahel and Ukraine
The Chief of the Defence Staff, General Daniel Petrescu, participated in the meeting of the Military Committee of the European Union (EUMC), in the format of the Chiefs of Defence, which took place on Tuesday and Wednesday in Seville, Spain, and which it focused on the perspectives of EU missions and operations, with an emphasis on those in the Sahel region, Africa, the status of the implementation of the Strategic Compass and the short- and medium-term support methods for Ukraine.
"The Romanian Army contributes to the EU's rapid response mechanism by participating in the HELBROC Battle Group, as well as in missions and operations under the EU mandate. We are determined to continue supporting the operationalization process of the EU DRC as well," stated General Daniel Petrescu, as quoted in a press release from the Defence Ministry (MapN).
Following the axes of the Strategic Compass, the EU is developing a Rapid Deployment Capacity (EU RDC), its own force structure whose Full Operational Capacity will be achieved in 2025. The Chief of Defence specified that this force structure will not duplicate that of the Alliance, the development of the EU's defensive capabilities being done in agreement with NATO.
On the sidelines of the meeting, the Chiefs of Defence attended, on Wednesday, in Cadiz, Spain, one of the sequences of the EU DRC verification exercise MILEX23, the first such major training event of the European Union. MILEX23 takes place between October 16-22 and brings together 3,000 soldiers from 19 member states. Land, air, naval, special operations and cyber and space capabilities participate in the joint training. The Romanian Army is present with staff, a detachment that operates two IAR-330 helicopters and an EOD team. The exercise in Spain contributes to increasing interoperability in the EU format and promotes military cooperation between the structures of the member states.
The EUMC, the EU Common Defense and Security Policy forum, is made up of the heads of defense from the member states who, after harmonizing their national positions, propose courses of action for European security. In the context of the exercise of the Spanish presidency of the European Union, the meeting took place at the Headquarters of the Spanish Land Forces, being the first event of this kind to take place outside the EU capital, Brussels.