Diplomatic Skills for CSDP,Larnaca, Cyprus, on 27-31 March 2023

The European Security and Defence College (ESDC) is pleased to inform about the activity ‘Diplomatic Skills for CSDP’ that successfully took place in Larnaca, Cyprus, on 27-31 March 2023. The course was organised by the Cyprus Security and Defence Academy and the West University of Timisoara, under the auspices of the ESDC, with great support of the European Commission’s DG NEAR Eastern Partnership Initiative, the Cyprus Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Romanian Embassy in Cyprus. In total, 47 participants from 11 EU Member States or Eastern Partnership countries, the UN as well as EU institutions seized the opportunity to interact with distinguished speakers from diplomatic and academic backgrounds, to debate on a variety of topics in the area of diplomacy and to network.

The overall aim of this course was to support EU Member States, partner countries, institutions and agencies in training their personnel to be able to work efficiently in CSDP-related fields at an operational and strategic level. In his opening address, the Deputy Head of the European Commission Delegation in Cyprus, Nikolaos Isaris, stated that

“It is important for the European Commission to have a common defence and security policy with the Member States. It is also very important to have education in both military and political missions so that they can use diplomatic skills to achieve the goals of our common policy”.

This would be needed quickly, as, the EU planned “very specific actions from now until 2030 to strengthen its role in the defence and security sector”.

The course commenced with a general introduction that familiarised the participants with the basic principles of diplomacy in the international strategic and diplomatic context. Moreover, it critically assessed the links between diplomacy, security in the broadest sense and more precisely the Common Security and Defence Policy as well as the Common Foreign and Security Policy. The course also dealt with new and established practices in diplomacy, globalisation trends, the relevance of public diplomacy in the context of CSDP missions, and introduced concepts and practices related to digital diplomacy.

It was particularly the mix of speakers’ as well as participants’ inputs and backgrounds in terms of both geography and thematic disciplines that made the course that appreciated and successful. We are already looking forward to a possible re-edition!