
Caption
Gunners from the Armed Forces of Ukraine fire at Russian position with a 155 mm self-propelled howitzer 2C22 in the Kharkiv region on April 21, 2024. (Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images)
Head of the European Union Desk
Captain (Navy) Hans Huygens is head of the European Union desk under the assistant chief of staff, strategy, and international relations of the Belgian Defence Staff.
Captain (Navy) Hans Huygens is head of the European Union desk under the assistant chief of staff, strategy, and international relations of the Belgian Defence Staff. In this role, he covers all EU-related defense issues. Previously, as the commanding officer of the Belgian Navy frigate Louise-Marie, he participated in the EU counter-piracy operation Atalanta. He helped plan this mission while serving as a strategic operations planner at the EU Military Staff in Brussels. His navy career spanned 30 years, including 10 years aboard warships.