State Secretary for Defence Policy and Planning, Sebastian HULUBAN, participates in the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in EU defence ministers format, in Brussels, on Monday, 19 November. The session is chaired by Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
Ministers for defence will first meet in the composition of the European Defence Agency (EDA) steering board to discuss pooling and sharing initiatives.
As part of the Foreign Affairs Council session, also chaired by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, defence ministers will review developments in the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). In addition, the Council will discuss the work of the Commission's task force on the defence industry. EU defence ministers discussed the state of play concerning the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) and adopted conclusions on military capability development. The Council also established the 2013 budget, the 2013-2015 working plan for the European Defence Agency and the interaction between the defence dimension and EU policies (industry and market, research and innovation, defence and security, cybernetics).
In the margin of EDA steering board, the chief of the Romanian delegation will sign the Diplomatic Clearance - DIC.
The defence ministers focused on the recent developments of the Common Security Defence Policy, EU operations in the Horn of Africa (Operation Atalanta, EU training mission in Somalia) and the Western Balkans (Operation Althea).
The Foreign Affairs Council meeting will be followed by a joint session when defence ministers will discuss preparations for the EUC for defence to take place in December 2013. They will also tackle the Malian security situation, including a possible EU training and assistance mission in this country.

MoND Press Office