On May 27-29, 2019, the city of Arad hosted the informal meeting of the European Union Military Committee Working Groups (EUMCWG and EUMCWG/HTF), organised by the Defence Staff under the aegis of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU (PRES RO).
The meeting gathered together experts representing the EU Member States and the European Union Military Staff (EUMS) as well as a Romanian delegation led by Major General Iulian Berdilă, Head of the Strategic Planning Directorate within the Defence Staff.
The activities are included in the Calendar of the informal meetings organised in Romania under the Romanian office as Council Presidency (PRES RO) and contribute to meeting the priorities under Pillar 3, “Europe, a global actor”.
On May 28, the members of the delegation went on a working visit to the NATO Human Intelligence Centre of Excellence (HUMINT HCOE) of Oradea where they were introduced to the role and the contribution of the NATO centre, and later they participated in a working session focusing on the EU-NATO cooperation in countering hybrid threats.
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As a supporting body of the European Union Military Staff (EUMC), the European Union Military Committee Working Group (EUMCWG) carries out tasks assigned to it by the EUMC and report to the EUMC alone. Tasked by the EUMC, the EUMCWG carries out a thorough examination and discussion of proposals and/or documents related to all military aspects, with the aim or reaching a consensus.
The European Union Military Committee Working Group/Headline Goal Task Force (EUMCWG/HTF) is a group of experts dealing with capability development. It is the EUMC’s working body with regard to all aspects of capability development where it has a responsibility. Beyond that, it has been given tasks encompassing a wider range of capability related issues in preparation of EUMC decisions.