Following the Amsterdam Treaty, when CSDP development started, it became obvious that the different aspects of this new policy field in the EU, including international crisis management, would require appropriate training at national as well as EU level. Training was considered essential to making CSDP effective, with professional performance from all staff working in this new field: diplomats, civilians, rule of law, and military personnel.
In early 2003, some Member States jointly circulated a paper promoting the idea of creating a European Security and Defence College. What they had in mind at this stage was the creation of a stand-alone college with its own staff and its own building in one of the Member States. However, one Member State strongly opposed the idea, which delayed its development.
In 2004/2005, some initial pilot training activities were organised and conducted in Brussels by the EU Military Staff. A modular pilot CSDP High-Level Course was also organised by some Member State training institutes in their capitals, and a special meeting organised at EU level paved the way for defining the conditions for setting up the ESDC.
Agreement was finally reached on the following: the ESDC would be a network college. The network members are well-known national civilian and military educational and research institutions in the Member States, including the EU Institute for Security Studies located in Paris. A three-tier governance structure supports the network, comprising a Steering Committee (representatives from Member States), an Executive Academic Board (representatives from network institutes), and a Permanent Secretariat (intended to consist of no more than three staff members). The latter is located in Brussels, embedded within the Council Secretariat, and later closely linked to the Crisis Management and Planning Directorate in the European External Action Service (EEAS).
This was the time when I took over responsibility for managing and developing the Secretariat, the network of institutes, and all training activities. At this stage, the creation of a network college was considered by many colleagues as an approach to keep the College limited in scope and to prevent its further significant development and potential role. Perhaps this was the intention of some Member States; however, the contrary happened.
The embedment of the Secretariat within the Council Secretariat, later within the EEAS, proved to be very effective for the conduct of a steadily growing number and variety of training courses. From the very beginning, there was a strong willingness among EU internal staff from the Council, EEAS, Commission, Parliament and others, from directors to desk officers, to engage in providing lectures for course participants, both in Brussels and at training institutes in the Member States. This greatly contributed to delivering high-quality training for EU and national staff and improving the acceptance of the College.
The College also began to promote the use of blended learning in all its training activities. Before course participants attend a residential training course, they must complete an e-learning phase. To this end, so-called Autonomous Knowledge Units have been developed by network members and other volunteers.
The network character of the College proved to be highly effective regarding the provision of training resources, including facilities and budgets. Member States, supported by the Secretariat, volunteered to organise and finance a steadily growing number and variety of courses in Brussels and at their own institutes. The College then established its own training concept and, based on this, network institutes increasingly engaged in the development of training curricula, which helped to disseminate CSDP knowledge and skills across the EU.
In this way, soon after its establishment, the College was able to make a significant contribution to better understanding of CSDP in the broader context of CFSP and to promoting a common European security culture, one of its main objectives.
From the very beginning, the College also applied an “open door” policy, allowing civilian and military staff from third states and international organisations to attend the College’s CSDP courses. The focus was on those partners who also actively engaged in EU crisis management activities.
In the following years, several attempts were made to improve the setup of the College, particularly regarding the Secretariat and the financing of training activities. Over time, the Secretariat was able to grow to ten staff members, thanks to many highly qualified seconded national experts from Member States.
With regard to financing training activities, since 2005 the principle of “costs lie where they fall” was applied. In 2013, after extensive discussions and consultations, the Commission finally agreed to establish the College on the basis of a legal act, as an entity with an operational budget of about EUR 500,000 and an official Head of the ESDC, responsible for the management of the College. In 2015, when I handed over to my successor, the network included almost 100 different national and international institutes, providing training each year to more than 2,000 civilian and military staff.
One might ask why a network college with rather modest resources became such a success story. I would respond: firstly, what was important was a widespread readiness across the EU, institutions and Member States alike, not only to share common objectives but also to engage actively together in pursuing them. Secondly, there was a spirit among almost all actors in this field saying, “Ask first what you can do for the EU, not what the EU can do for you.” These attitudes, quite likely, could also help to improve the EU’s current overall situation.