Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability
The Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability was the directorate of the External Action Service of the European Union that served as operational headquarters for the civilian [List of military and civilian List of military and civilian missions of the European Union|missions of the European Union|missions] of the Common Security and Defence Policy. In March 2025 the CPCC was superseded by the EU Civilian Operations Headquarters.
Through the Joint Support Coordination Cell, the CPCC cooperated with its military counterpart, the Military Planning and Conduct Capability.
The CPCC was situated in the Kortenberg building in Brussels, Belgium, along with a number of other CSDP bodies.
Director
The CPCC Director, as Civilian Operations Commander, exercises command and control at strategic level for the operational planning and conduct of all civilian crisis management operations. The Civ OpCdr is assisted by number of senior policy experts.Divisions
The CPCC was composed of the following divisions as of September 2019:Conduct of operations
The Conduct of Operations Division is in continuous contact with the civilian CSDP missions. On behalf of the Civ OpCdr it supports Heads of Mission and mission staff to deliver on their respective mandates, and ensures that the political objectives of the High Representative and the member states are followed by the missions.The division consists of three geographically-organised sections, made up of administrator and assistant officials, seconded national experts including subject matter experts on policing, rule of law and maritime issues:
- Europe
- Africa
- Asia/Middle East
Chief of Staff/Horizontal Co-ordination
The Chief of Staff Division is responsible for internal co-ordination of day-to-day issues. On top of that it has strategic responsibilities which are carried out by two sections:- Operational Capability: This section is primarily responsible for providing guidance on cross-cutting issues such as lessons learnt, including the development of operational guidelines to ensure greater consistency and coherence on operational mandate delivery.
- Operational Planning: This section supports operational planning and establishment of civilian CSDP missions, establishing Planning Teams to develop operational planning documents such as the Concept of Operation and Operational Plan, and to support Missions in all aspects of their start-up phase.