16 September 2020 - Ottmar von Holtz

Member of the German Bundestag / Bündnis 90/Die Grünen parliamentary group / Spokesperson for Civil Crisis Prevention

At the opening of the new European Centre of Excellence for Civilian Crisis Management (CoE) on September 17, Ottmar von Holtz, Green Member of the Bundestag from Hildesheim, Spokesperson for Civilian Crisis Prevention of the Green faction and Chairman of the Subcommittee for Civilian Crisis Prevention, Conflict Management and Integrated Action in the Bundestag, emphasised that

“with the Centre of Excellence for Civilian Crisis Management (CoE) in Berlin, the Member States now have a valuable new networking instrument with which knowledge and experience in the field of civilian conflict management can be comprehensively exchanged. By joining forces and sharing know-how, the currently 18 Member States can make an even better contribution to the peaceful resolution of armed conflicts in the EU's neighborhood."

Seconded national experts (SNEs) from the Member States are an important part of the CoE's working methods; at the time of the opening, there are already two SNEs with the Centre in Berlin. It is now important to bring many more Seconded Experts to Berlin as soon as possible and to facilitate a comprehensive exchange.

One of the important issues the CoE is working on is increasing the participation of women in civilian peace missions. To this end, a workshop with experts has been held the day before the opening. Here, the German government must finally show clearer progress and can certainly benefit greatly from the Centre's findings.

Congratulations to the founding director Dr. Volker Jacoby on this special day and all the best for the CoE team for their valuable work.”

The present text is a translation from the original one, in German. For the original Press release, please click here.