European military cadets will study the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP)

The Spanish Ministry of Defence will offer the military cadets and midshipmen of European Union countries the chance to study an EU course on the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) at the Spanish military academies of the three branches of the armed forces as part of the educational exchange programme known as the military ERASMUS.

The military ERASMUS aims to promote the exchange of students and teachers between officer training schools in EU countries, in a similar manner to the ERASMUS university programme.

Since this military education programme was approved just over a year ago, successive EU presidencies such as the French, Czech and Swedish presidencies have promoted it through seminars held in Paris, Brno and Stockholm, to study its implementation.

Aware of the importance of this initiative, the Spanish Ministry of Defence aims to follow this path by implementing this course on the CSPD organised by the Directorate General for Military Recruitment and Training to be given at the Zaragoza Military Academy, the Marín Naval Academy and the San Javier General Air Force Academy.

Each of these military training centres will offer 30 places to cadets and midshipmen from the army, navy or air force of EU countries.

The course will run from this February to next March; it will be given through a distance learning phase for three weeks and there will then be a week long classroom course in which students will study and board at the corresponding Spanish military academy, with the opportunity to get to know the host city and the surrounding attractions.

At the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council meeting of 2 October 2008, the defence ministers approved the French proposal to promote student and teacher exchanges between EU military academies.

It is similar to the ERASMUS university exchange programme and aims to improve the interoperability between the European armed forces, contributing to encouraging fellowship of its military personnel and the dissemination of European security and defence culture, in favour of European unity.

This new programme falls under the auspices of the European Security and Defence College (ESDC) based in Brussels, where the development lines are being studied by an implementation group with representatives from EU Member States.