European Gendarmerie Force
Encyclopedia
The European Gendarmerie Force (EUROGENDFOR or EGF) was launched by an agreement in 2006 between five members
of the European Union
(EU): France
, Italy
, the Netherlands
, Portugal
, and Spain
. Romania
subsequently joined in 2009. Its purpose is the creation of a European intervention force, designed after the French Gendarmerie
and the Italian Unità Specializzate Multinazionali (M.S.U.) of the Carabinieri
http://www.governo.it/GovernoInforma/Dossier/gendarmeria_europea/; that force will have militarised police functions and specialise in crisis management. Its status is enshrined in the Treaty of Velsen of 18 October 2007.
, in northeastern Italy, and has a core of 800-900 members ready to deploy within 30 days. This includes elements from the; French Gendarmerie Italian Carabinieri
Dutch Royal Marechaussee Portuguese National Republican Guard Romanian Gendarmerie
Spanish Civil Guard
An additional 2,300 reinforcements will be available on standby. The Polish
Military Gendarmerie
are also a partner force, and on 10 October 2006, Poland indicated it would like to join the EGF. More countries will be allowed to join in the future.
Germany does not take part, as their constitution does not permit the use of military forces for police services. The minister of defense, Peter Struck, clarified in 2004 that the legal foundation of militarised police forces is different from expectations underlying the EGF. The paramilitary Bereitschaftspolizei
units of the Länder states have no standing patrol order like the German Federal Police
for example. Neither did Germany sign the Treaty of Velsen on the EGF or any later proposal. Instead there is a tight integration of police forces based on the Prüm Treaty. Originally the Prüm Treaty regulated access to police databases of neighboring countries but it was used multiple times as the legal foundation to exchange riot police equipment and personal with the participating countries (Germany, Spain, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria, and Belgium). In 2008 the Prüm Treaty was naturalized as EU law allowing them access to police forces regulated under EU law (based on the Schengen agreement
). While the European Police Forces Training of 2009 (EUPFT 2009) was run in Vicenza (home to EGF headquarter) the EUPFT 2010 on anti-riot tactics was run in Lehnin in Germany.
Michèle Alliot-Marie
first proposed this force on September 2003; she and the Italian Defense Minister Antonio Martino
presented it at the Meeting of European Union
Defense Ministers, on October 2003. The implentation agreement was finally signed by defence ministers of the five countries on September 17, 2004 in Noordwijk
, Netherlands. On 23 January 2006, the EGF was officially inaugurated during a military ceremony in the Gen. Chinotto barracks in Vicenza.
The EGF was declared fully operational on 20 July 2006, following the High Level Interministerial meeting in Madrid, Spain, and its second successful Command Post exercise (CPX), which took place between 19–28 April 2006. The first CPX was held at the National Gendarmerie Training Center in Saint Astier, France, in June 2005.
After Romania
's accession to the European Union, the Romanian Gendarmerie
sought to be accepted as permanent observer to the European Gendarmerie Force, as a first step towards full membership. On March 3, 2009, the Romanian Gendarmerie became a full member of the European Gendarmerie Force.
Since December 2009, the EGF is taking part in the NATO International Security Assistance Force
(ISAF) training operation of the Afghan National Police
(ANP) in the War in Afghanistan
. As of June 2010, 276 members of the EGF (among which 124 French gendarmes), from France, Spain, Netherlands, Poland and Portugal are training the Afghan National Civil Order Police
(ANCOP) officers and non-commissioned officers, while the initial mission was planned to be around 400 to 500 men. They are training them in ANCOP training centers but are also accompanying, advising and helping them during their missions in P-OMLT (Police Operational Mentoring and Liaison Teams), where their military experience (even if the mission is stricly speaking civilian since it is "formation") will be useful. As of May 2010, it had already formed 50 officers and 250 non-commissioned officers of the ANCOP, and it was announced by the French Minister of Defense Brice Hortefeux that 40 more French gendarmes would be sent to help carrying this mission.
In early 2010 the EGF was deployed to Haiti
to help with post-relief security efforts.
Member State of the European Union
A member state of the European Union is a state that is party to treaties of the European Union and has thereby undertaken the privileges and obligations that EU membership entails. Unlike membership of an international organisation, being an EU member state places a country under binding laws in...
of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
(EU): France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
subsequently joined in 2009. Its purpose is the creation of a European intervention force, designed after the French Gendarmerie
Gendarmerie
A gendarmerie or gendarmery is a military force charged with police duties among civilian populations. Members of such a force are typically called "gendarmes". The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary describes a gendarme as "a soldier who is employed on police duties" and a "gendarmery, -erie" as...
and the Italian Unità Specializzate Multinazionali (M.S.U.) of the Carabinieri
Carabinieri
The Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie of Italy, policing both military and civilian populations, and is a branch of the armed forces.-Early history:...
http://www.governo.it/GovernoInforma/Dossier/gendarmeria_europea/; that force will have militarised police functions and specialise in crisis management. Its status is enshrined in the Treaty of Velsen of 18 October 2007.
Members
The EGF is based in VicenzaVicenza
Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...
, in northeastern Italy, and has a core of 800-900 members ready to deploy within 30 days. This includes elements from the; French Gendarmerie Italian Carabinieri
Carabinieri
The Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie of Italy, policing both military and civilian populations, and is a branch of the armed forces.-Early history:...
Dutch Royal Marechaussee Portuguese National Republican Guard Romanian Gendarmerie
Jandarmeria Româna
Jandarmeria Română is the military branch of the two Romanian police forces .The gendarmerie is subordinated to the Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reform and does not have responsibility for policing the Romanian Armed Forces...
Spanish Civil Guard
Civil Guard (Spain)
The Civil Guard is the Spanish gendarmerie. It has foreign peace-keeping missions and maintains military status and is the equivalent of a federal military-status police force. As a police force, the Guardia Civil is comparable today to the French Gendarmerie, the Italian Carabinieri and the...
An additional 2,300 reinforcements will be available on standby. The Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
Military Gendarmerie
Military Gendarmerie
The Military Gendarmerie is a military provost formation created in 1990 in Poland.-History:Polish military police traces its history to the communist era Military Internal Service , World War II-era Service for Protection of the Uprising , interwar-era military police in the Second Polish Republic,...
are also a partner force, and on 10 October 2006, Poland indicated it would like to join the EGF. More countries will be allowed to join in the future.
Germany does not take part, as their constitution does not permit the use of military forces for police services. The minister of defense, Peter Struck, clarified in 2004 that the legal foundation of militarised police forces is different from expectations underlying the EGF. The paramilitary Bereitschaftspolizei
Bereitschaftspolizei
The Bereitschaftspolizei are the support and rapid reaction units of Germany's police forces...
units of the Länder states have no standing patrol order like the German Federal Police
German Federal Police
The Bundespolizei is a uniformed federal police force in Germany. It is subordinate to the Federal Ministry of the Interior...
for example. Neither did Germany sign the Treaty of Velsen on the EGF or any later proposal. Instead there is a tight integration of police forces based on the Prüm Treaty. Originally the Prüm Treaty regulated access to police databases of neighboring countries but it was used multiple times as the legal foundation to exchange riot police equipment and personal with the participating countries (Germany, Spain, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria, and Belgium). In 2008 the Prüm Treaty was naturalized as EU law allowing them access to police forces regulated under EU law (based on the Schengen agreement
Schengen Agreement
The Schengen Agreement is a treaty signed on 14 June 1985 near the town of Schengen in Luxembourg, between five of the ten member states of the European Economic Community. It was supplemented by the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement 5 years later...
). While the European Police Forces Training of 2009 (EUPFT 2009) was run in Vicenza (home to EGF headquarter) the EUPFT 2010 on anti-riot tactics was run in Lehnin in Germany.
History
The French Defence MinisterMinister of Defence (France)
The Minister of Defense and Veterans Affairs is the French government cabinet member charged with running the military of France....
Michèle Alliot-Marie
Michèle Alliot-Marie
Michèle Jeanne Honorine Alliot-Marie, born 10 September 1946 and nicknamed MAM, is a French politician of the Union for a Popular Movement . A member of all but one right-wing governments of the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, she was the first woman in France to hold the portfolios of Defense , the...
first proposed this force on September 2003; she and the Italian Defense Minister Antonio Martino
Antonio Martino
Antonio Martino is an Italian politician, who has been Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1994 and Italian Minister of Defense from 2001 to 2006. He is a founding member of Forza Italia, holding party card no. 2.-Career:...
presented it at the Meeting of European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
Defense Ministers, on October 2003. The implentation agreement was finally signed by defence ministers of the five countries on September 17, 2004 in Noordwijk
Noordwijk
Noordwijk is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 51.53 km² and had a population of 24,707 in May 2006....
, Netherlands. On 23 January 2006, the EGF was officially inaugurated during a military ceremony in the Gen. Chinotto barracks in Vicenza.
The EGF was declared fully operational on 20 July 2006, following the High Level Interministerial meeting in Madrid, Spain, and its second successful Command Post exercise (CPX), which took place between 19–28 April 2006. The first CPX was held at the National Gendarmerie Training Center in Saint Astier, France, in June 2005.
After Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
's accession to the European Union, the Romanian Gendarmerie
Jandarmeria Româna
Jandarmeria Română is the military branch of the two Romanian police forces .The gendarmerie is subordinated to the Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reform and does not have responsibility for policing the Romanian Armed Forces...
sought to be accepted as permanent observer to the European Gendarmerie Force, as a first step towards full membership. On March 3, 2009, the Romanian Gendarmerie became a full member of the European Gendarmerie Force.
Since December 2009, the EGF is taking part in the NATO International Security Assistance Force
International Security Assistance Force
The International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...
(ISAF) training operation of the Afghan National Police
Afghan National Police
The Afghan National Police - ANP - is the primary national police force in Afghanistan. It serves as a single law enforcement agency all across the country. The Afghan police force was first created with the establishment of the Afghan nation in the early 18th century...
(ANP) in the War in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
. As of June 2010, 276 members of the EGF (among which 124 French gendarmes), from France, Spain, Netherlands, Poland and Portugal are training the Afghan National Civil Order Police
Afghan National Civil Order Police
Afghan National Civil Order Police is a special police unit developed in July 2006 by Colonel Jack Stankiewicz, US Army, Police Reformation Directorate, CSTC-A of the law enforcement agency in Afghanistan.- Role :...
(ANCOP) officers and non-commissioned officers, while the initial mission was planned to be around 400 to 500 men. They are training them in ANCOP training centers but are also accompanying, advising and helping them during their missions in P-OMLT (Police Operational Mentoring and Liaison Teams), where their military experience (even if the mission is stricly speaking civilian since it is "formation") will be useful. As of May 2010, it had already formed 50 officers and 250 non-commissioned officers of the ANCOP, and it was announced by the French Minister of Defense Brice Hortefeux that 40 more French gendarmes would be sent to help carrying this mission.
In early 2010 the EGF was deployed to Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
to help with post-relief security efforts.
See also
- Association of the European and Mediterranean Police Forces and Gendarmeries with Military Status