The Informal Defence Ministers Meeting of EU member-states takes place at the “Zappeion Megaron” in Athens, on February 20 and 21, 2014. It will be chaired by Greek Minister of National Defence Dimitris Avramopoulos on behalf of the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton.

 

The meeting will be attended by the Ministers of Defence and their teams, as well as delegates from the European External Action Service (EEAS), the European Commission, the European Defence Agency (EDA), and the Chairman of the European Union Military Committee (EUMC). The Secretary General of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen and the United Nations Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hervé Ladsous, have been invited to participate in sessions of the meeting.  

 

Ministers will discuss the outcome of the European Council of December 2013 and the follow-up actions. The Heads of State and Government have adopted a set of Conclusions which will frame the work on the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) for the years to come. 

 

Another session will be dedicated to the EU's four ongoing military CSDP operations (the counter-piracy Operation ATALANTA in the Horn of Africa, EUFOR ALTHEA in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the ΕU Training Missions in Mali and Somalia) with the participation of their respective operation commanders. Finally, Ministers will discuss the EU operation in the Central African Republic which is currently under planning with a view to its deployment in the weeks to come.