After three and a half years, the European Union Civilian Training Initiative (EUCTI) project is nearing its end. The EUCTI Secretariat, held at the Centre for European Perspective (CEP), decided to host its Final Conference on Thursday, 6 June, at BluePoint in Brussels. The Final Conference was divided into two parts: a panel discussion in the morning and a partner meeting in the afternoon. All Consortium partners attended it, as well as representatives of individual European police and gendarmerie organisations, EU stakeholders, and others interested in hearing about EUCTI and its achievements throughout the years.
The morning session of the conference was enriched by the insights shared by the esteemed panellists: Mrs Mihaela Matei from CPCC.1, Ms Anna-Karin Häggeborg from PCM.1, and Ms Tetiana Babiichuk from EUAM Ukraine. They provided a comprehensive view of the project and its connection with the EU CSDP training policy and architecture. The panellists underscored the importance of flexibility, agility, quick responsiveness, and need-based, tailor-made, and integrated approaches to training. These, they emphasized, are the key elements that equip such initiatives to effectively bridge the existing gaps. The afternoon session further delved into these insights, presenting key lessons learned and takeaways from the project in an informal and engaging manner.
The project has not only met but surpassed the objectives it set out in January 2021, a source of great joy for the whole Consortium. Partners have implemented 41 training courses and activities, among them seven workshops for members of training institutions from countries not (yet) contributing to EU Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions. We have trained almost 700 participants, mostly staff of civilian EU CSDP crisis management missions who were joined by personnel of other international peace support organisations, a testament to the project’s wide-reaching impact. Two working groups—the Working Group on Standardisation and Methodology and the Working Group on Evaluation—made conducting all these activities possible by creating a solid quality assurance framework.
CEP and EUCTI
Besides hosting the Secretariat (already a humongous task), CEP implemented nine training activities. Seven of them targeted personnel of EU Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) civilian crisis management missions: EULEX Kosovo, EUAM Ukraine, EUMM Georgia and EUM Armenia. Two of them targeted members of training institutions in Namibia and Mongolia.
Although this project is ending, CEP is continuing its activities in civilian crisis management at the European Union level and is currently preparing for a new, even bigger, and more ambitious project. Stay tuned for more soon!