The Center of Excellence for Stability Police Units (CoESPU) operates as a center for advanced studies and a doctrinal hub, serving as a think tank and a training center. By the virtue of the fact that the CoESPU is collocated with the Permanent Headquarters of the European Gendarmerie Force (EGF) and the NATO SP CoE (Stability Policing Center of Excellence), the Center plays a key role in the effective research and doctrinal interchange, as well as in providing mutual training among different International Organizations.
Since its foundation, the CoESPU has organized training and educational activities, to increase the global capability of the Peace Support Operations (PSOs) - now Peace Operations (POs) - and CoESPU trainees have become the nucleus of a robust, Carabinieri-like Peacekeeping Police Force, who are able to carry out their duties in the context of POs, especially in destabilized environments.
The first phase of training focused on future Formed Police Unit (FPU) Operator Trainers. From 2010, the CoESPU, under the aegis of the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (UN DPKO) and in cooperation with other International Organizations, has improved the capability of Carabinieri-like Police Components, providing comprehensive training in the stability policing field, in line with UN policy, standardized FPU pre-deployment curricula and unit readiness standards, with focus on the self-sufficiency of the Police Contributing Countries (PCC) – providing training assistance in partnership with the UN Standing Police Capacity (SPC).
Specifically, in accordance with its mission, the Centre of Excellence:
- conducts training programs;
- enhances current police peacekeeping doctrine and related best practices;
- promote interoperability principles;
- provides an onsite testing method for validating specific capabilities of the trained forces, coming from various Nations;
- coordinates the standardization of international mission equipment,
and, also, in a wider perspective and vision:
- is active within a worldwide “doctrinal network”, interacting with the various International Organizations, Universities, Academic Institutes and peer Research Centers;
- develops doctrinal proposals and new operational procedures;
- plans and designs new didactic activities.