The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of 27 member states that are located primarily in Europe. The Union has a total area of 4,233,255 km2 (1,634,469 sq mi) and an estimated total population of over 448 million. The EU has often been described as a sui generis political entity combining the characteristics of both a federation and a confederation.
The European Commission (EC) is part of the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government,with 27 members of the Commission headed by a President. It includes an administrative body of about 32,000 European civil servants. The commission is divided into departments known as Directorates-General (DGs) that can be likened to departments or ministries each headed by a Director-General who is responsible to a Commissioner.
The president of the European Council is the person presiding over and driving forward the work of the European Council on the world stage. This institution comprises the college of heads of state or government of EU member states as well as the president of the European Commission,and provides political direction to the European Union (EU).
Eurocorps,located in the French city of Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin),is a multinational corps headquarters. Founded by France and Germany in 1992,it is today composed of personnel from six framework nations and five associated nations. The framework nations place the Eurocorps at the service of the European Union (EU) and NATO,which certified it in 2002 as one of its nine High Readiness Land Headquarters.
Erhard Busek was an Austrian politician from the Christian-conservative People's Party (ÖVP). Throughout his political career,he was widely regarded as one of the leaders of the party's liberal wing. He was coordinator of the South-Eastern Cooperative Initiative (SECI) and chairman of the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe.
The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) is an independent body of the European Union (EU) with juridical personality,established under the Treaty of Lisbon between 23 of the 27 states of the EU following the method of enhanced cooperation. The EPPO was established as a response to the need for a prosecutorial body to combat crimes affecting the financial interests of the European Union (EU). The idea of establishing the EPPO gained momentum with a legislative proposal put forth by the European Commission in 2013. After lengthy negotiations and discussions within the European Council,the European Parliament and Member States,Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 was adopted on October 12,2017,formalizing the creation of the EPPO. The EPPO Regulation is the EPPO's legal basis,as it outlines the objectives,structure,jurisdiction,and operational procedures. Directive (EU) 2017/1371,also known as the PIF Directive,specifies the criminal offenses affecting the EU's financial interest falling under the EPPO's jurisdiction. The EPPO's primary mandate is to investigate and prosecute offenses such as fraud,corruption,and money laundering that harm the financial interests of the EU,as defined by the PIF Directive. The EPPO represents a significant step towards a more integrated and effective approach to combating transnational crimes within the EU,fostering collaboration and coordination among member states to protect the Union's financial resources. As an independent EU body,the EPPO plays a crucial role in ensuring the rule of law and safeguarding the integrity of the EU's financial system. The EPPO is based in Kirchberg,Luxembourg City alongside the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and the European Court of Auditors (ECA).
Othmar Karas is an Austrian politician who has been serving as the First Vice-President of the European Parliament since January 2022,having been a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 1999. He is a member of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP),which in turn affiliates with the European People's Party.
Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen is a German physician and politician serving as the 13th president of the European Commission since 2019. She served in the German federal government between 2005 and 2019,holding successive positions in Angela Merkel's cabinet,most recently as federal minister of defence. Von der Leyen is a member of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its EU affiliated group,the European People's Party (EPP).
Switzerland is not a member state of the European Union (EU). It is associated with the Union through a series of bilateral treaties in which Switzerland has adopted various provisions of European Union law in order to participate in the Union's single market,without joining as a member state. Among Switzerland's neighbouring countries,all but one are EU member states.
The Military Committee of the European Union (EUMC) is the body of the European Union's (EU) Common Security and Defence Policy that is composed of member states' Chiefs of Defence (CHOD). These national CHODs are regularly represented in the EUMC in Brussels by their permanent Military Representatives (MilRep),who often are two- or three-star flag officers.
Albania is on the current agenda for future enlargement of the European Union (EU). It applied for EU membership on 28 April 2009,and has since June 2014 been an official candidate for accession. The Council of the European Union decided in March 2020 to open accession negotiations with Albania.
The Chief of the Austrian General Staff is the highest-ranking military officer in the Austrian Armed Forces and is responsible for maintaining control over the service branches.
The Director General of the European Union Military Staff (DGEUMS) is the head of the European Union Military Staff (EUMS) who also serves as Director of the Military Planning and Conduct Capability. This position,which was established in 2001,is held by a three-star general. The current holder is lieutenant general Michiel van der Laan,occupying the position since June 2023.
The chairman of the European Union Military Committee (CEUMC) is the four-star rank officer representing and presiding over the European Union's (EU) Military Committee (EUMC),composed of the chiefs of defence (CHODs) of the EU member states. The chairman is selected by the chiefs of defence of the member states and appointed by the members of the Council of the European Union for a three-year term.
Volt Europa is a pro-European and European federalist political party,which is organized as a pan-European umbrella for subsidiary parties of the same name and branding in all EU member states and several non-EU states,including Albania,Switzerland,Ukraine,and the United Kingdom.
The ninth European Parliament was elected during the 2019 elections and is slated to remain in session until the forthcoming 2024 elections.
Damian Hieronymus Johannes Freiherr von Boeselager is a German business consultant,journalist and Volt Europa politician who has sat in the European Parliament since being elected in 2019.
The von der Leyen Commission is the current European Commission,in office since 1 December 2019 and is to last until the 2024 elections. It has Ursula von der Leyen as its president and it further consists of one commissioner from each of the member states of the European Union.
The 2024 European Parliament election is scheduled to be held on 6 to 9 June 2024. This will be the tenth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979,and the first European Parliament election after Brexit. This election will also coincide with a number of other elections in the European Union.
Johann Frank is a Major General of the Austrian Armed Forces. He is the director cabinet of the Chairman of the European Union Military Committee and supports General Robert Brieger,who took over the chairmanship of the EU Military Committee from that date. From 2020 to 2022,he was director of the Institute for Peace Support and Conflict Management at the National Defence Academy in Vienna. From 2014 to 2020,he held the position of Security policy director at the Federal Ministry of Defence and was a permanent member of the National Security Council (NSC) and the council for integration and foreign policy.
Austria 
Austrian Land Forces 
