EU Military Committee Chairman Gen. Patrick de Rousiers to visit Japan

EU News 98/2014

6 March 2014

Gen. Patrick de Rousiers, chairman of the European Union Military Committee (EUMC), will be visiting Japan from 6 to 10 March. He will have consultations with the chief of staff of the Joint Staff Council of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, Gen. Shigeru Iwasaki. He will also meet senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defence. He will discuss closer EU-Japan security policy cooperation, as well as exchange views on regional issues.

General de Rousiers' visit will build on the commitment by EU and Japanese leaders at their summit held last November in Tokyo to work more closely on security policy-related matters.

The EUMC is the highest military body set up within the Council of the EU. It is composed of the Chiefs of Defence of the Member States.  It provides the Political and Security Committee with advice and recommendations on all military matters. Gen. de Rousiers, who assumed his post in November 2012 after serving stints as the French air defence and air operations commander and the French military representative to both the EU and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, is the military adviser to EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton and is also the primary point of contact for the commanders of the EU military operations and missions.

The EUMC is also a key component in the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), which allows it to play a leading role in peacekeeping operations, conflict prevention and strengthening international security to better address security challenges in today's world. The CSDP is an integral part of the EU's comprehensive approach towards crisis management, drawing on civilian and military assets.

For more information, please contact:

Mari Koseki                Tel: 03-5422-6034 Mari.Koseki@eeas.europa.eu
Miwako Suetsune       Tel: 03-5422-6035 / Miwako.Suetsune@eeas.europa.eu
Digital Media:
Vicente J. Luna      Tel: 03-5422-6038 / Vicente.Luna-Ganuza@eeas.europa.eu

File Photo: General De Rousiers, EUTM Somalia (C)EU, 2013 URL

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