provide direct support to the Civilian Operations Commander for the operational planning and conduct of the civilian missions in the Horn of Africa and in the Sahel region, using its military and specialised planning expertise;

provide support to the military Missions and Operation Commanders in the Horn of Africa and in the Sahel region;

provide support to the Crisis Management and Planning Directorate (CMPD), at its request, in its strategic planning for the CSDP missions and operation in the Horn of Africa and in the Sahel region;

facilitate interaction between the respective CSDP missions and operation and the Brussels-based structures. In relation to the ‘ train and equip ’ pilot cases in Mali and Somalia, the EU Operations Centre may usefully provide support to a functional coordination mechanism, in view of its implementation plan;

facilitate coordination and improve synergies amongst the CSDP missions and operation in the Horn of Africa, in the context of the Horn of Africa Strategy and in liaison with the European Union Special Representative (EUSR) for the Horn of Africa and the European Union Special Envoy for Somalia;

facilitate coordination and improve synergies amongst the CSDP missions in the Sahel region, in the context of the Sahel Strategy and in liaison with the EUSR for the Sahel.