NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Tirana, Albania
The 2016 spring session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA) took place in Tirana, Albania, from 27 to 30 May 2016. The NATO PA brought together more than 300 parliamentarians from the 28 NATO member countries as well as delegates from partner countries and observers to discuss reports, recommendations …
Ethics in Counter-Terrorism
From 23 to 25 May 2016 the International Society for Military Ethics in Europe (Euro-ISME) organised its 6th Annual Conference in the Akershus Fortress in Oslo. The event, entitled “Ethics in Counter-Terrorism”, was organised in cooperation with the Norwegian Military Staff College and the Norwegian Military Chaplaincy. In previous decades, …
Soldiers Picket Line in Vilnius, Lithuania
On 4, 5 and 6 May EUROMIL’s Lithuanian member association “Soldier Rights Defence Center” (KTGC) organised three picket lines in front of the government building, the Ministry of Defence and the office of the President. At each occasion a delegation of KTGC, headed by Laimonas Jakas, was received by several …
Seeking the Political Holy Grail
Two issues dominated the international political agenda during the last months: The migration flow and its influence on the Schengen zone as well as the terrorist threats we are facing all over Europe these days. No ideal and hundred percent effective solutions! Looking back to the recent European Council decisions …
Parliamentary Approval
Abstract – Three Committees of the German Parliament held consultation with six renowned legal experts on the parliamentary approval, which is needed to deploy the German armed forces in armed missions abroad. Currently, a reform of the parliamentary approval is being discussed in Parliament and the consultations provided the parliamentarians …
EUTM Mali and EU NAVFOR ATALANTA
Abstract – The German Parliament discussed the extension of the mandate for EUTM Mali and EU NAVFOR ATALANTA. The Minister of Defence, Dr. Ursula von der Leyen, explained that especially Mali is a good example showing how the concept “comprehensive security” is actually implemented by German and other European forces …
German Armed Forces 2020 plus
Abstract – In May 2014, the DBwV made a first step by publishing the paper “Powerful German Armed Forces 2020”. Therein, the German Armed Forces Association described the ideal armed forces in 2020: staff, an attractive programme, better equipment and a higher defense budget where items on the agenda. Now …
Being Military Is Not The Synonym Of Being A Servant
Abstract – Since the “Tercios” of the Habsburg armies, which laid the bases of a professional army in Spain, a set of rules, traditions and ordinances have been transmitted along the history, until our days. These rules have been assumed to be normal by the following generations and have been …
SICILY 2016
On 9 April 2016 EUROMIL’s observer association “Associazione Il Movimento Libera Rappresentanza” (LR) held a fist meeting in Palermo (Sicily) on “Rights, Security and Defence in the Mediterranean”. In Italy, military personnel still has no right to form and join professional military associations or trade unions. The President of LR, …
Roundtable Meeting on Military Trade Unions in Malta
As a follow-up on the first visit of the President of EUROMIL, Emmanuel Jacob, to Malta in February 2016, EUROMIL organised a roundtable meeting on military trade unions in Valletta on 5 April 2016. The President opened the meeting by pointing out that EUROMIL was pleased to be back in …