european gendarmerie force keynotes on eurogendfor identity and

EUROPEAN GENDARMERIE FORCE
KEYNOTES ON EUROGENDFOR IDENTITY AND TASKS
INDEX
1. INTRODUCTION
2. WELCOME BY EUROGENDFORCOMMANDER
3. ABOUT EUROGENDFOR
4. EUROGENDFOR OPERATIONS (Past and Current)
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to European Gendarmerie Force (EUROGENDFOR). This booklet aims at giving you a short
introduction to the EUROGENDFOR reality. You will find some basic information about EUROGENDFOR (history, current missions, contacts) to make you feel “at home”.
For any further information, please visit our website
www.eurogendfor.org or www.eurogendfor.eu.
European Gendarmerie Force
Permanent Headquarters
Via Medici, 87
36100 Vicenza (Italy)
Tel. +39 0444 935201
+39 0444 935297
Welcome to the European Gendarmerie Force
It is a pleasure for me, on behalf of all EUROGENDFOR’s personnel, to welcome you: we
all hope you feel among friends. We need to work together in close co-operation in order
to accomplish our mission assignments: give us your expertise, we will give you ours and
for sure our mission will be well accomplished. At times there will be demanding periods
to meet our mission requirements, in which you are required to give your best
performance. I have no doubts that you will succeed.
EUROGENDFOR is a multinational organization and this implies that you will be
working and living with people from different backgrounds and cultures. Mutual
understanding and teamwork are very important in making this a successful
organization.
We wish you a safe and successful transition into your new environment. Again,
welcome to EUROGENDFOR.
The European Gendarmerie Force Commander
Colonel Cornelis P.C. (Kees) Kuijs LLD
ABOUT EUROGENDFOR
LOCATION
The European Gendarmerie Force Permanent Headquarters, since its establishment, has been located in Vicenza, at the “General Chinotto” Barracks. Lieutenant General Antonio Chinotto was a World War I hero.
Vicenza is approximately 50 km from Venice, and is well connected by motorways, rail and a small airport. The city was built at the foot of Berici hills
and is known as a city of art, thanks to the work of famous architect Andrea
Palladio (XVI c.) who built the Cathedral, City Hall and many great classic
Villas.
THE EUROGENDFOR LOGO
On a background of blue sky, the cruciform sword symbolizes the force, the laurel crown the victory, and the flaming grenade the common military roots of the police forces.
THE EUROGENDFOR MOTTO
EUROGENDFOR motto is “Lex paciferat”, whose meaning (the law will bring the peace)
stresses the principle of the strict connection between the enforcement of the rule of law and the
restoring of a safe and secure environment, cornerstone for EUROGENDFOR commitment
The European Gendarmerie Force is a Multinational Police Force, operational, preorganized, robust and rapidly deployable, constituted only by elements of the police
forces with military status of the Parties, in order to perform all police tasks within the
scope of crisis management operations. Due to its peculiarity, the EUROGENDFOR can
perform the full spectrum of police tasks.
Being able to deploy some 800 personnel within 30 days, EUROGENDFOR’s aim is:

to conduct police missions in the context of Crisis Management Operations (CMO);

to offer an operational instrument mainly at the disposal of the EU, in line with the conclusions of the European Council in S.M. da Feira (June 2000) and Nice (December
2000), and also of other IOs (UN, OSCE, NATO), or “ad hoc” coalitions;

to fill, in said police missions, both the deployment and the security gaps.
Structure
The EUROGENDFOR decision-making body is the High Level Interdepartmental Committee, commonly
referred to by the French abbreviation CIMIN (Comité InterMInistériel de haut Niveau). As the primary
decision-making body, the Committee ensure the political-military coordination, the political control and gives
strategic directions to the EUROGENDFOR
At operational level, the Permanent Headquarters, consisting of the Commander and his/her staff, represents the most visible part of EUROGENDFOR as it is the only structure working on a permanent basis. The
PHQ strength is 36 people, with the possibility, in case of operations, to be augmented up to 50 units or to
temporarily dispatch PHQ personnel in order to facilitate the establishment and set up of the Force Headquarters in the Area of Operation.
At tactical level, there is no stand-by (or permanently assigned) force under EUROGENDFOR command,
since the EUROGENDFOR Force is generated on an ad hoc basis depending on the type of mission they
are going to be assigned. In particular, it is possible the deployment of 800 personnel within 30 days, with
the task of replacing/strengthening, training or mentoring the local police forces.
Accession to EUROGENDFOR
Membership can be obtained by an EU Member state possessing a police force
with military status.
Observer status can be granted to an EU Candidate Member state possessing a
police force with military status.
Partnership can be achieved by EU Member or Candidate states possessing a police force with military status but with limited police powers.
MEMBERS
Gendarmerie Nationale
(France)
Arma dei Carabinieri
(Italy)
Guarda Nacional Republicana
(Portugal)
Jandarmeria Română
(România)
PARTNERS
Żandarmeria Wojskowa
(Poland)
Viesojo Saugumo Tarnyba
(Lithuania)
Koninklijke Marechaussee
(The Netherlands)
Guardia Civil
(Spain)
OBSERVERS
Jandarma Genel Komutanlığı
(Turkey)
CHARACTERISTICS AND CAPABILITIES
One of the main features characterizing EUROGENDFOR is the flexibility of the tool, thus
basically meaning that the EUROGENDFOR Forces can be placed under either a
military, in the case of high-intensity conflict, or civilian chain of command and are able to
act autonomously or together with other forces. Consequently EUROGENDFOR is able
to manage every aspect of the various phases of the crisis:

The initial stage, carrying out stabilization and ensuring order and security
substituting or strengthening weak or nonexistent local police forces;

During the transition phase, continuing to fulfill its mission, as part of military
expeditionary force, facilitating co-ordination and co-operation with local or
international police units;

During the disengagement, facilitating the seamless and smooth transfer of
responsibilities from the military to the civilian chain of command.
SCENARIOS OF INTERVENTION
The possible scenarios of intervention for EUROGENDFOR are mainly the following:

Substitution of local police forces taking place in an area where the conflict has led
to a significant breakdown of the central administration and the international police
presence may be mandated to perform the full range (or just some) of the police
functions, thus being entitled to executive police powers, and should therefore be
armed.

Strengthening of local police forces in a scenario characterized by a high level of
insecurity and criminality due to the lack of a proper Rule of Law system. The
international police officers would monitor, mentor and advise as well as train the
Local Police in order to raise their professional standards, contributing to the
restructuring of the Local Police also through screening and vetting programs.

Other possible uses in humanitarian operations in case of natural or manmade
disasters, unsafe environments, lack of adequate infrastructure, internally displaced
persons (IDPs) or refugees.
ADDED VALUE
Rapid Planning and rapid deployment
Civilian Police forces are, in general, not capable to deploy as fast as the military. On the
contrary EUROGENDFOR is able to deploy alongside the military in the first stage of a
crisis management operation, generally the most critical, thus filling the deployment and
secutity gaps.
Possibility to act under military or civilian Chain of Command
The possibility to act under civilian and military chain of Command and even to assure
the transition from the military to the civilian primacy in a CMO will allow synergy of efforts
and consistency of action. Generally civilian polices are not allowed to act under military
Chain of command.
Capability to operate in non benign environments
Gendarmerie forces have some military skills and robust equipment that allows them to
act in destabilised environments performing police tasks since the very outset of a crisis.
EUROGENDFOR OPERATIONS
(Past and Current)
EUROGENDFOR participation in EUFOR "Althea" mission in Bosnia Herzegovina
From 22 November 2007 till 28 October 2010 EUROGENDFOR took over the responsibility for manning the
IPU Headquarters and coordinating the national EUROGENDFOR contributions for the IPU unit within the
framework of the EUFOR "Althea" mission in Bosnia Herzegovina.
The engagement in "Althea" mission, which represented the first mission of EUROGENDFOR since its
creation in 2004, marked a milestone in its development as a credible and valid tool, at disposal of EU and
other relevant International Organizations, in the field of Crisis Management Operations.
EUROGENDFOR participation within MINUSTAH Haiti in 2010
The engagement in "MINUSTAH" represented the first mission of EUROGENDFOR under UN aegis. Following the UN Security Council Resolution nr.1892, the European Gendarmerie Force deployed in Haiti one
French and one Italian Formed Police Unit (FPU), alongside with the Spanish Special Weapons and Tactics
Platoon, tasked with supporting the UN Civilian Police activities, assisting the Haitian National Police and
the Humanitarian Agencies and other organizations acknowledged by the United Nations.
The EUROGENDFOR operational commitment ended on the 3rd of December 2010.
EUROGENDFOR PARTICIPATION IN AFGHANISTAN
Following the establishment of the NATO Training Mission in Afghanistan (NTM-A) during the StrasbourgKehl NATO summit in April 2009, EUROGENDFOR is engaged in the Afghan theatre since 8 Dec 2009,
playing a relevant role in the training of the Afghan National Police. EUROGENDFOR is involved in three
areas of commitment on the theatre:

EUROGENDFOR experts to the NTM-A CTAG-P chain of command,

mentors and training advisors to the ANP,

mentors to the Afghan Uniformed Police through the provision of Police Operational Mentoring and Liaison Teams.
European Gendarmerie Force
Permanent Headquarters
Caserma Gen. CHINOTTO
Via G. Medici 87
36100 VICENZA
Italy
Tel: (+39) 0444/935201
Fax: (+39) 0444/935297
e-mail: egf.info@eurogendfor.org
www.eurogendfor.org