MULTILAYER (ML) type exercises are conducted in a biennial basis as double exercises involving a CSDP Planning Phase and an Event Driven Part. Training Aufience includes both the Political and the Military actors at multiple levels (political, politico-strategic, strategic and operational).
The EU Hybrid Exercise Multilayer 18 (Parallel and Coordinated Exercise) or EU HEX-ML 18 (PACE) was a comprehensive and combined exercise with a focus on crisis management and response in a hybrid threats environment conducted in accordance with the provisions of the EU Exercise Policy framework, and in full respect of the principles of inclusiveness, reciprocity and decision-making autonomy of the EU.
The aim of the exercise was to improve and enhance, in a safe-to-fail environment, the EU’s ability to respond to a complex crisis of a hybrid nature with an internal and an external dimension, as well as to improve cooperation with NATO in accordance with the PACE concept.
The aim of the Parallel and Coordinated Exercise (PACE) concept is to exercise and establish procedures on liaison and coordination with EEAS and NATO entities in the context of the combined deployment of a civilian/military CSDP mission/operation.
The EU HEX-ML 18 (PACE) was conducted from 05 to 23 Nov 13 2018 and consisted of an event-driven crisis response exercise focusing on hybrid threats provoked by state and non-state actors, and a Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) planning process at several levels (political, politico-strategic, military- strategic and operational).
Both exercises were designed to influence one another, using a geopolitical setting based in three connected theatres: Europe, Maritime (Mediterranean, Atlantic and Baltic Sea) and Africa. The scenario supported the need for the possible deployment of a CSDP military operation and a CSDP civilian mission in the same fictional country of interest.
Greece provided the EL EU OHQ in Larissa and the EL EU FHQ in Nea Santa (Kilkis) as the military EU HQs at the military-strategic and operational levels, respectively, for the needs of the exercise.
It was the first time that an EU OHQ conducted a MULTILAYER exercise under the Parallel and Coordinated Exercise (PACE) concept with EU having the leading role.
