Civilian Operation Commander
1. The Managing Director of the Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability (CPCC) shall be the Civilian Operation Commander for the civilian pillar.
2. The CPCC shall be at the disposal of the Civilian Operation Commander for the planning and conduct of the civilian pillar.
3. The Civilian Operation Commander, under the political control and strategic direction of the PSC and overall authority of the High Representative, shall exercise command and control of the civilian pillar at the strategic level.
4. The Civilian Operation Commander shall ensure the proper and effective implementation of the decisions of the Council and of the PSC with regard to the conduct of operations, including by issuing instructions at the strategic level to the staff of the civilian pillar as required and by providing them with advice and technical support.
5. The Civilian Operation Commander shall report to the Council through the High Representative.
6. All staff seconded to the civilian pillar shall remain under the full command of the national authorities of the seconding State in accordance with national rules, of the Union institution concerned or of the European External Action Service (EEAS), as appropriate. The national authority, Union institution or the EEAS, as appropriate, shall transfer operational control of its seconded staff to the Civilian Operation Commander.
7. The Civilian Operation Commander shall have overall responsibility for ensuring that the Union’s duty of care is properly discharged for staff in the civilian pillar.
8. The Civilian Operation Commander and the heads of the Union delegations to the countries referred to in Article 1(3) shall consult each other as required.
Head of the civilian command and support cell
1. The CPCC shall be reinforced for the purpose of the Initiative by a civilian command and support cell.
2. The head of the civilian command and support cell shall assume responsibility for the civilian pillar and shall exercise command and control thereof, at the operational level. The head of the civilian command and support cell shall be directly responsible to the Civilian Operation Commander and shall act in accordance with the Civilian Operation Commander’s instructions.
3. The head of the civilian command and support cell shall be the representative of the civilian pillar in its area of responsibility.
4. The head of the civilian command and support cell shall exercise administrative and logistic responsibility for the civilian pillar, including responsibility for the assets, resources and information placed at the disposal of the civilian pillar. The head of the civilian command and support cell may delegate management tasks relating to staff and financial matters to staff members of the civilian pillar, under the overall responsibility of the head of the civilian command and support cell.
5. The head of the civilian command and support cell shall be responsible for disciplinary control over the staff of the civilian pillar. For seconded staff, disciplinary action shall be exercised by the national authorities of the seconding State in accordance with national rules, by the Union institution concerned or by the EEAS, as appropriate.
6. The head of the civilian command and support cell shall ensure appropriate visibility of the civilian pillar.
Staff
1. The civilian pillar shall consist primarily of staff seconded by Member States, by Union institutions or by the EEAS. Each Member State, each Union institution and the EEAS shall bear the costs related to any member of staff seconded by it, including travel expenses to and from the place of deployment, salaries, medical coverage and allowances other than applicable daily allowances.
2. The Member State, the Union institution or the EEAS, as appropriate, shall be responsible for answering any claims relating to the secondment of or concerning their members of staff seconded to the civilian pillar, and for bringing any actions against such persons.
3. International and local staff may be recruited on a contractual basis by the civilian pillar if the functions required cannot be provided by personnel seconded by Member States. Exceptionally, in duly justified cases where no qualified applicants from the Member States are available, nationals from participating third States may be recruited on a contractual basis.
4. The conditions of employment and the rights and obligations of international and local staff in the civilian pillar shall be laid down in the contracts between the civilian pillar and the staff member concerned.
Security
1. The Civilian Operation Commander shall direct the planning of security measures for the civilian pillar and ensure their proper and effective implementation by the Initiative in accordance with Article 5.
2. The head of the civilian command and support cell shall be responsible for the security of the civilian pillar and for ensuring compliance with the minimum security requirements applicable to the Initiative, in line with the policy of the Union on the security of personnel deployed outside the Union in an operational capacity under Title V TEU, and its supporting instruments.
3. The staff of the civilian pillar shall undergo mandatory security training before taking up their duties, in accordance with the Operation Plan. They shall also receive regular in-theatre refresher training organised by the Security Officer.
4. The Civilian Operation Commander shall ensure the protection of EU classified information in accordance with Council Decision 2013/488/EU ( 2 ) .
Legal arrangements
The civilian pillar shall have the capacity to procure services and supplies, to enter into contracts and administrative arrangements, to employ staff, to hold bank accounts, to acquire and dispose of assets and to discharge its liabilities, and to be a party to legal proceedings, as required in order to implement this Decision.
Financial arrangements
1. The financial reference amount intended to cover the expenditure related to the civilian pillar for the six months following the entry into force of this Decision shall be EUR 1 075 000. The financial reference amount for any subsequent period shall be decided by the Council.
2. All expenditure for the civilian pillar shall be managed in accordance with the rules and procedures applicable to the general budget of the Union. Participation of natural and legal persons in the award of procurement contracts by the civilian pillar shall be open without limitations. Moreover, no rule of origin for goods purchased by the civilian pillar shall apply. Subject to the Commission’s approval, the civilian pillar may conclude technical arrangements with Member States, countries referred to in Article 1(3), participating third States and other international actors regarding the provision of equipment, services and premises to the civilian pillar.
3. The civilian pillar shall be responsible for the implementation of its budget. For that purpose, the civilian pillar shall sign an agreement with the Commission. The financial arrangements shall respect the chain of command provided for in Articles 4, 5 and 6 and the operational requirements of the Initiative.
4. The civilian pillar shall report fully to, and be supervised by, the Commission as regards the financial activities undertaken in the framework of the agreement referred to in paragraph 3.
5. The expenditure related to the civilian pillar shall be eligible as of the date of adoption of this Decision.
Civilian project cell
1. The civilian pillar shall have a civilian project cell for identifying and implementing civilian projects in support of its tasks set out in Article 2(1).
2. The civilian project cell shall, as appropriate, facilitate and provide advice on projects implemented by Member States and third States under their responsibility in areas related to the civilian pillar and in support of its objectives.
3. Subject to paragraph 5, the civilian pillar shall be authorised to seek recourse to financial contributions from Member States or from third States to implement projects identified as supplementing the Initiative’s other actions in a consistent manner, if the project is:
(a)
provided for in the financial statement relating to this Decision; or
(b)
integrated during the mandate of the Initiative by means of an amendment to that financial statement requested by the Civilian Operation Commander.
4. The civilian pillar shall enter into an arrangement with the relevant authorities of the States referred to in paragraph 3, covering in particular the specific procedures for dealing with any complaint from third parties concerning damage caused as a result of acts or omission by the civilian pillar in the use of the funds provided by those States.
5. Under no circumstances shall the States referred to in paragraph 3 hold the Union or the High Representative liable for acts or omissions by the civilian pillar in the use of the funds provided by those States.
6. The PSC shall agree on the acceptance of a financial contribution from third States to the civilian project cell.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
