The purpose of this course is to provide an introduction to NATO structures, policies and operations, as well as, an overview of the current issues facing the Alliance. The course is primarily designed for regular and reserve officers and civilian officials from NATO and Partner Countries who are assuming national or international responsibilities in the security field. Students who complete this basic course will acquire the level of knowledge and understanding necessary to enable them to benefit more fully from the advanced NATO courses offered by the NATO School, the NATO Defense College, the National Defence Colleges and training institutions of NATO and PfP countries and the PfP training centres. The content provider is the NATO Defense College (NDC).

The purpose of this course is to provide an insight into the most important issues related to CSDP, ranging from the historical developments that led to its creation and the relevant EU institutions and operations to the most important challenges currently confronting CSDP. Students will also be able to test their knowledge and put it into practice with the help of exercises on all these different topics.