The course was organised in collaboration with the Romanian National College of Home Affairs (CNAI) and the Naval Academy ”Mircea cel Batran”, supported by the Romanian Border Police and the Bulgarian Naval Academy “Nikola Y. Vaptsarov”. It was held in Constanța, Romania, from 21 to 24 May 2024, with active participation and excellent outcomes.
The aim of the course was to prepare military officers and civil servants from EU member states, institutions and agencies to be assigned to positions dealing with maritime security policies, strategies and missions/operations at executive staff level. The course participants were exposed to diplomatic, institutional, legal and operational issues related to the implementation of the EU Maritime Security Strategy (EUMSS). Additionally, they had the opportunity to establish a network of practitioners working in the field of maritime security in EU member states and institutions.
On the first day of the course, participants learnt about the contribution naval forces make to stability and security in the extended Black Sea region and were introduced to the revised EU maritime security strategy. The second day featured briefings on the maritime information and communication platforms and the contemporary EU security and defence challenges. The third day of the course gave participants the opportunity to focus on the Indo-Pacific region and the strategic impact of relevant EU missions and operations, and also to join the Romanian Border Police in a maritime exercise on-board.
The course concluded with briefings on the integrated maritime policy, the EU approach to integrated maritime surveillance and the future of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). We would like to thank all of the keynote speakers for their excellent contributions and input. The content of the presentations and the highly relevant topics triggered thought-provoking and rewarding discussions between the participants and the experts. We would also like to thank all participants for their trust in the ESDC. We will do our utmost to continue to provide high-quality training.
