Earlier this month, CoE Senior Advisor, Staffan Westfahl, visited Moldova to support the training of Moldovan police officers on the topic of EU Civilian Crisis Management. 

Organised by the EU Training Agency for Law Enforcement (CEPOL) and the European Security and Defence College (ESDC), the training course was developed as part of CEPOL’s EU4Security Moldova project. 

Working in partnership with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Moldova, CEPOL’s EU4Security Moldova project aims to strengthen Moldovan law enforcement capabilities through providing trainings and expert advice. By doing this, the project intends to benefit Moldovan citizens, as well as support EU accession efforts by aligning Moldovan standards to those of the EU. 

As part of the EU4Security Moldova project, CEPOL worked with the ESDC to develop a course on EU Civilian Crisis Management, which was delivered in Chișinău to Moldovan police officers. Given his extensive experience working on policing and civilian CSDP in both national and international contexts, CoE Senior Advisor Staffan Westfahl was invited to attend the training course as a speaker, as well as contribute to the creation of an online training course for participants. 

In Moldova, Staffan spoke to participants about the types of EU civilian CSDP missions, the structure and chain of command of missions, and the process of applying to a mission, as well as participating in a panel event. In addition, Staffan presented the work of the CoE, highlighting how we support our members to strengthen their national capabilities so that they can better contribute to the EU’s civilian CSDP missions. 

As part of the course, Staffan, along with course participants, also visited the EU Partnership Mission in the Republic of Moldova (EUPM Moldova), and met with the new Head of Mission, Ms. Kirsten Joppe. This visit provided Moldovan police officers with the opportunity to see firsthand how civilian CSDP missions support security and resilience building measures on the ground. 

Policing plays an important role in civilian CSDP, with many missions working with local counterparts in host countries to strengthen policing, rule of law, and the countering of security threats. Through engaging with the Moldovan police, this training course represents an important example of civilian CSDP-JHA (Justice and Home Affairs) cooperation. Only by working together can we enhance rule of law, combat cross-border threats, and secure long-term security and stability. 

The CoE would like to thank Staffan for sharing his expertise as part of this course, and for highlighting the important work of the CoE.