Inauguration of the semester meeting of the EU member states Chiefs of Defence.

• This working meeting of the European Union Military Committee is being held for the first time outside Belgium to coincide with the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU.

The Plaza de España in Seville hosted the inaugural ceremony of the meeting of the European Union Military Committee for the second half of 2023.

The event was presided over by the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security, Josep Borrell, and the acting Spanish Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles, accompanied by the Chairman of the EU Military Committee, General Robert Brieger, and the Spanish Chief of Defence, Admiral General Teodoro E. López Calderón. Also present at the ceremony were the Chiefs of Defence of the other EU member states accompanied by their permanent military representatives to the European Union.

The following units took part in the ceremony: the 74th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment of the Spanish Army, the 74th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment of the Spanish Navy, the Navy's Tercio de Armada, and the Air and Space Army's Group 'Acuartelamiento Aéreo de Tablada' (Tablada Air Barracks) and Grupo Móvil de Control Aéreo (Mobile Air Control Group). Seville is hosting the European Military Committee Meeting (EUMC) for two days. This is a working meeting of the Chiefs of Defence Staff of the EU member states, chaired by General Robert Brieger.

The first session began today, Tuesday, at 15:00 at the Fundación Cajasol. 

The agenda includes, among other issues, the support that the European Union is providing to Ukraine following Russia's invasion.

This support includes both the sending of material and the training of Ukrainian military personnel.

The EU's Strategic Compass is another of the issues that will be discussed over the next few days, in terms of the steps to be taken in the short and medium term to implement it by 2025. The members of the Committee will also discuss the military missions that the European Union has deployed in Africa, especially in the Sahel, and their continuation.

The EU Military Committee meets every six months at the level of the Chief of Defence Staff. These meetings are usually held in Brussels, but on this occasion, coinciding with the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU, the meeting for the second half of the year will be held in Seville.