On 14 February 2000, the Council approves the secondment of national experts in the military field to the General Secretariat during an interim period. They are to provide military expertise to the Interim Military Body and the Secretary General/High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP).

Following the Santa Maria da Feira European Council held on 19 and 20 June 2000, with a view to putting in place permanent political and military structures related to the European security and defence policy (ESDP), the General Secretariat of the Council adopts a number of measures concerning, in particular, physical and IT security, reconstruction work on a new building and the planning of staff requirements.

Council Decision 2001/80/CFSP of 22 January 2001 establishes the Military Staff of the European Union (EUMS). It is formed by military personnel seconded from the Member States to the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union.

Diagram illustrating the organisation of the European Union Military Staff (EUMS), as set out in the Council Decision of 22 January 2001 establishing the European Union Military Staff.

Address by Javier Solana, High Representative for the EU common foreign and security policy, delivered before the External Action Working Group of the European Convention on 15 October 2002. In his speech, Mr Solana explains the nature of his role, shares lessons learned from his own experience and puts forward proposals for a more efficient foreign policy.

In an interview granted to the French daily newspaper Le Monde, published on 29 March 2003, Javier Solana, Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union, sets out his role in international crisis management, incumbent upon him as High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and emphasises that the responsibility for establishing common positions, as well as responsibility for the domain of foreign policy, lies primarily with the Member States of the European Union.

Published on 17 October 2006 in the German daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, this article pays tribute to the work of Javier Solana as High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and comments on speculation on his successor.

Council Decision 2005/395/CFSP of 10 May 2005 amends the terms of reference and organisation of the Military Staff of the European Union (EUMS), established as part of the Council structures by Decision 2001/80/CFSP.

Overview of the organisation of the European Union Military Staff (EUMS) as set out in the Council Decision of 10 May 2005 amending the Decision establishing the European Union Military Staff.

Establishment plan of the European Union Military Staff (EUMS) in 2006.

Information brochure on the role, duties and organisation of the European Union Military Staff (EUMS).

On 23 May 2005, Javier Solana, Secretary-General of the Council/High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) (left), and Pieter Cornelis Feith, Deputy Director-General for Politico-Military Affairs in Directorate-General E (External Relations) of the General Secretariat of the Council, attend a meeting of the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) on the European security and defence policy (ESDP).

On 25 March, in Brussels, following the terrorist attacks of 11 March 2004 in Madrid, the European Council adopts the Declaration on combating terrorism, in which it agrees to the establishment of the position of a Counter-Terrorism Coordinator and welcomes Javier Solana's decision to appoint Gijs de Vries as the first person to hold this post.

On 30 March 2004, Javier Solana, Secretary-General of the EU Council and High Representative for the common foreign and security policy (CFSP), introduces to the press the Dutchman, Gijs de Vries, former Deputy Interior Minister, who will be responsible for coordinating the counter-terrorist activities of the Member States and for monitoring compliance with the undertakings given by European governments after the bomb attacks in Madrid on 11 March 2004.

In an interview granted in autumn 2005 to NATO Review, Gijs de Vries, Counter-Terrorism Coordinator at the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union, outlines the nature of his role in coordinating national policies in the field of counter-terrorism and stresses that responsibility in this field lies primarily with the governments of the Member States and emphasises the need for international cooperation.

In an interview published in the French newspaper Le Monde on 17 February 2007, Gijs de Vries, before leaving his post as Counter-Terrorism Coordinator in the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union, emphasises the importance of adhering to the law in the fight against terrorism and the need to review the decision-making machinery in the Council in order to improve its efficiency.

Gijs de Vries (Netherlands), European Union's Counter-Terrorism Coordinator from 2004 to 2007.

Gilles de Kerchove d'Ousselghem (Belgium), European Union's Counter-Terrorism Coordinator since 19 September 2007.

In this interview excerpt, Philippe de Schoutheete, Belgian Permanent Representative to the European Union from 1987 to 1997, analyses the office of High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, which, since the Treaty of Lisbon, has combined the roles of permanent President of the Foreign Affairs Council and Vice-President of the European Commission.

In this interview excerpt, Jacques Delors, President of the Commission of the European Communities from 1985 to 1995, discusses the role that should be played by the new High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy established by the reforms introduced by the Lisbon Treaty, and speaks about the creation of the European External Action Service (EEAS).