Military Erasmus: 2 steps taken by the EU. Spain takes the lead...

(BRUSSELS2) The European College for Defense and Security approved, on 10 March, two technical provisions which will enable the military Erasmus program to be implemented. " Firstly, a framework agreement for the exchange of officers, making it possible to reduce administrative burdens. Secondly, a credit transfer system has been set up on the model of "civil" education (ECTS) », which make it possible to quantify the work to be produced by teaching module. This will thus facilitate the system of equivalences between national military training and should prevent a training module abroad from being wasted time that cannot be taken into account upon return.

In Spain which holds the rotating presidency of the EU, the military academies have "inaugurated" this new arrangement of the military Erasmus with a training course dedicated to the PeSDC. During the month of February. 86 cadets from 14 EU countries followed a teaching module on common security and defense at the military academies of Zaragoza, Marin (navy) and San Javier (air). Among the 86 students: 34 Spaniards, 6 Germans, Greeks, Italians, Poles and Portuguese; 4 Belgians and Swedes, 2 Bulgarians, Slovenians and Dutch; 1 Cypriot and Hungarian. All teaching modules were delivered in English. The training was sanctioned by an approved diploma from the European College of Security and Defense (CESD), which will provide 3 European Academic Credits (ECTS), to be included in the curriculum of their national military academies of origin.

NB: Portugal previously, France and Austria more recently have also implemented Erasmus modules.

(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)

Read also:

• Go study in Austria as part of theErasmus military (January 2010)
• Erasmus military: first assessment, step by step (May 2009)
• Signature of a Spain-Portugal military Erasmus agreement (January 2009)
• The military Erasmus initiative approved by a majority of countries (November 2008)