The EU Military Staff, the European Union's permanent single integrated military structure, is now in its fifth year. Small though it is, from the outset it has been at the heart of European Security and Defence Policy achievements. It brings its military expertise to the preparation of all documents to be used as the launch pad for operations. It is the executive structure in the process of developing capabilities and it is in constant contact with the main EU interlocutors in the security field throughout the world.