The European Union has begun to display its military arm for the first time in its history. The Rota naval base (Cádiz) yesterday witnessed the start of maneuvers in real conditions of the rapid deployment force, with which the European partners intend to respond to possible imminent threats outside the Union. A crucial test on the ground in which some 3,000 soldiers from 31 units from 19 member states participate.

The new European military force should reach its full operational capacity in 2025, according to planned community times. That year, the military planning and execution capacity – framed in the General Staff of the European Union – will assume command of the troops that until then will be in the hands of national units.

As Lieutenant Colonel Gonzalo Méndez de Pando, assigned to the force development division of the joint chiefs of staff, explains to La Vanguardia, the completion of this exercise represents “a historical milestone” within the framework of the objectives of the Strategic Compass.

The Milex 23 exercise consists of two parts connected to each other. The first consisted of a command post exercise and lasted until Friday, October 6. In it, the military planning process was tested at a strategic and operational level. The second part is the live exercise (Livex), which began yesterday and will continue until next Sunday. During these days, the Force will deploy in a “simulated theater of operations” in the province of Cádiz and will execute the operational plan developed during the planning phase.

The approximately 3,000 soldiers participating in the exercise do not know what the days will bring them. Military sources tell this newspaper that the maneuver will supposedly take place in a non-European country – that is the nature of the rapid deployment force – in which terrorist attacks perpetrated by a group with great capacity for action have left the security of the area. From disinformation campaigns to cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, including pirates on the high seas.

An amphibious landing from the Juan Carlos I, where the force headquarters is located, served to start the military exercise to which challenges will be added from Brussels, where the operational headquarters is located. The same sources advance that the situations could range from an evacuation operation or deploying equipment against a cyber attack.

The high representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, witnessed the landing yesterday on a beach at the Rota base. The vice president of the European Commission assured that the maneuvers will serve to build a common strategic culture” in defense matters.

“As the European Union, we must be prepared to act appropriately, to protect our citizens and to contribute to global stability. To do this, we have to do exercises together, which will help us be better prepared to play our role as a defense and as a general security provider,” he stated. The high representative defended the design of “a robust and adaptable military instrument” that offers this “rapid response.” In that sense, he announced that it will be “ready” in 2025.

After witnessing the start of the military exercise, Borrell moved to Seville, where he chaired, together with the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, the Meeting of the EU Military Committee (EUMC) at the level of chiefs of Defense Staff, in the general headquarters of the land force, in Seville. The program of the European Chiefs of Staff includes four work sessions, which will address support to Ukraine, the development of the European Rapid Deployment Capability, the future of missions in the Sahel and the updating of the Development Plan of EU Capabilities.

“They are essential to reinforce the generation of forces for EU missions and operations, one of the most visible tools of foreign action,” the minister warned them. Robles stressed that, among other things, “they are decisive in the development of the most important initiative of the Strategic Compass, the rapid deployment capacity, and its command, control and secure communications.”