TBILISI, 5 June – Delegates of the Committee for Civilian Aspects of Crisis Management (CivCom) are visiting the EU Monitoring Mission (EUMM) in Georgia on 5-9 June 2023. They will visit EUMM Headquarters and all three Field Offices to gain a comprehensive understanding of the security situation in Georgia and the Mission’s role in contributing to stability. Upon their return to Brussels, the delegates will apply these insights to provide expert advice and recommendations to the relevant EU institutions.
Civilian Compact
The visit is taking place two weeks after the EU adopted a new Civilian CSDP (Common Security and Defence Policy) Compact, which aims to further enhance capabilities of EU civilian missions, including EUMM. The CivCom visit also underlines the importance of EU civilian crisis management missions to contribute to stability in Georgia and the EU neighbourhood.
Upon their arrival, the delegation received a warm welcome by the EUMM Head of Mission, Mr. Dimitrios Karabalis.
“Two weeks ago, the EU adopted a new Civilian Compact. This important strategic document and the visit of CivCom this week further show that the EU remains equally strong committed to stability and security in Georgia as 15 years ago, when our Mission arrived in Georgia,” Head of Mission Karabalis said.
Visit
Today, the CivCom delegates visited the EUMM Headquarters in Tbilisi, where they received briefings from the Mission members. They also met with senior staff from the EU Special Representative (EUSR) for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia, EU Delegation as well as with EU member states’ Ambassadors.
Over the next four days, the CivCom delegation will visit all three EUMM Field Offices in Mtskheta, Gori and Zugdidi. Together with EUMM monitors, they will participate in patrols to the Administrative Boundary Lines (ABLs) with Georgia’s breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Further, the CivCom delegates will have meetings with representatives of the Georgian government, civil society, and international organisations.
Background information
The Committee for Civilian Aspects of Crisis Management (CivCom) was set up in 2000.
CivCom advises the Political and Security Committee (PSC) on civilian aspects of crisis management. It prepares planning documents for new missions, makes recommendations to the PSC and deals with the development of strategies for civilian crisis management.
CivCom is composed of representatives of EU member states.
The new Civilian CSDP (Common Security and Defence Policy) Compact was adopted on 22 May 2023. It aims to make civilian CSDP more effective, robust, and capable in response to the deteriorating security environment.