Monday, 15 April 2019 / Published in CSDP Orientation Course, News

Is HERACLEIA region in a “Thucydides Trap” and does EU have an answer to the region’s crisis?

That was the main question that gave rise to a heated debate that took place at the Hellenic Supreme Joint War College (HSJWC) as the highlight of the CSDP Orientation Course. A fictitious crisis, serving as the vessel for idea generation, hot debate and solution identification . An ideal way to conclude a successful, fulfilling and enjoyable week.

The Hellenic Supreme Joint War College (HSJWC) hosted its annual CSDP Orientation Course in Thessaloniki from 25 Feb to 01 Mar 2019. The course was held by HSJWC in cooperation with the University of Macedonia (UoM), under the auspices of ESDC.

67 participants from 14 EU member states (Cyprus, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden) and for the first time 2 representatives from South Korea attended the course, representing a wide spectrum of organizations, agencies and services. Among them were military and civilian officials, police officers, diplomats and PhD candidates.

That variety of working backgrounds and experience, the collective knowledge and expertise that the participants brought with them, created a synergy that helped ensure that the course was successful and productive. This demonstrated vividly a positive aspect of EU dynamics as well as the effectiveness of an Integrated Approach in addressing new challenges in a changing Europe, in the context of the EU Global Strategy.

Course participants went through a series of sessions on CSDP specturm, in line with the course curriculum. The course was taught by a number of distinguished lecturers including: Dean Ilias KOUSKOUVELIS (U of Macedonia), Professor Daniel Fiott (EUISS), Mr Fernando Moreno (CSDP-CR/ISP), Mr Apostolos NIKOLAIDIS (DG ECHO), Prof Petteri TAITTO (U of Laurea), LTGEN Dimokritos ZERVAKIS (former Commander EL EU-OHQ).

Participants were able to familiarize themselves with the EUGS, CSFP structure and processes, CSDP decision-making proce dures, EU agencies, factors influencing deployment of CSDP missions/operations, EU operations along with horizontal issues as Gender and Hybrid treats.

They were also able to do more networking during the welcome cocktail, to have a taste of the Hellenic Carnaval festivities of “Tsiknopempti – or Fat Thursday” during a traditional lunch and learn more about the history of Macedonia and Thessaloniki through a guided visit to the city’s Archaeological Museum.