Miscellaneous >> Frequently Asked Questions
General questions
Q.1.a. What is the EGF?
Q.1.b. What is the added value of the EGF compared with
the European Police Force?
Q.1.c.What is the EGF aiming at?
Q.1.d. What are the structures related to the EGF?
Q.1.e. How is the EGF related to the European Union?
Q.1.f. In what way the EGF can be deployed?
Q.1.g. Who decides on an EGF deployment?
Q.1.h. In what framework the EGF will be deployed?
Q.1.i. Who gives the mandate for operations in which
the EGF is involved?
Operations
Q.2.a. When will the EGF be operational?
Q. 2.b. What are the capabilities of the EGF?
Q. 2.c. What are the tasks the EGF can perform?
Q. 2.d. What kind of support does the EGF need in operations?
Q. 2.e. What is the chain of command and control?
Affiliation - membership :
Q.3.a.What is the military status of the police forces?
Q.3.b. What are the prerequisites to join the EGF?
Q.3.c.Is it possible for a military police force to
become a member of the EGF?
Q.3.d. Is it possible for a civilian police force to
become a member of the EGF ?
Contribution to an international mission :
Q.4.a. What are the requirements to participate with
EGF to an international mission?
Q.4.b. Can military forces participate with EGF in an
international mission?
Q.4.c.Can the EGF participate in an international mission
within a military framework?
Q.4.d. Can a Military Police force participate with
EGF in an international mission?
Q.4.e. Can a civilian police force participate with
EGF in an international mission?
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ANSWERS
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Q.1.a. What is the EGF?
Ans. The European Gendarmerie Force (EGF) is a multinational initiative of
5 EU Member States - France, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal and Spain - to strengthen
international crisis management capacities. The EGF aims at a consistent and co-ordinated
deployment of EU police forces with a military status and full police powers. The
EGF will be, first and foremost, at the disposal of the EU. It can also be put at
the disposal of the UN, OSCE, NATO, other international organisations or ad hoc
coalitions.
EGF Participants have responded to the need to rapidly conduct civil security actions,
sometimes parallel with the military intervention, by establishing this multinational
tool. The EGF should facilitate the handling of crisis that require management by
police forces, usually in a critical situation, either in a civil crisis environment
or alongside a military force.
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Q.1.b. What is the added value of the EGF compared with
the European Police Force?
Ans. The added value of the EGF is, that this multinational co-operation:
- is capable to deploy rapidly (within 30 days) an interoperable and expeditionary
police mission, with a capacity up to 800 gendarmes;
- is capable (due to the shared values, skills and drills) and willing to perform
in more robust police missions under more demanding circumstances and military command.
- is robust, information-gathering orientated and is designed to provide an efficient
response to criminal activities;
- is capable of dealing with all the issues related to public order and security
so that to speed the demilitarisation and the normalization of the crisis area;
- is able and willing to perform all kinds of police missions, in both substitution
and strengthening missions;
- can offer possibilities to improve the interoperability amongst the EGF Participants
and between the EGF Participants and other police forces through training programs;
can offer a framework in which other police forces can be deployed as well.
- is capable to be integrated in a military crisis management tool
- is designed to be committed rapidly thanks to its permanent HQ and its logistic
unit.
In this way the EGF offers a complementary tool within the Civil Crisis Management
Capacities of the EU.
In addition, the added value of the EGF lies within the huge experience EGF Participants
have gained in all kinds of police missions over the last years, especially in more
robust police missions such as MSU and IPU.
Finally, the goal set by the EGF Participants to have integrated units, equipment,
training, and status of their personnel in due time, also contributes to the added
value of the EGF.
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Q.1.c. What is the EGF aiming at?
Ans. The five Participants have committed themselves to permanently provide
capacities to deploy a European Gendarmerie Force, i.e. manned by personnel with
a military status, capable to carry out the whole spectrum of international police
missions. The EGF will possess an initial rapid-reaction capability up to 800 persons
within 30 days, that can be reinforced.
As the experience matured so far had highlighted the need for a command structure
at operational level in order to implement political/strategic directives related
to police issues in crisis areas, the five Participants decided to establish a permanent
HQ, consisting of a multinational staff of approximately 30 persons, located in
Vicenza (Italy).
Furthermore, it is excellently suitable for deployment parallel with or immediately
after a military operation to maintain public order and safety as well as in situations
where local police services are not (sufficiently) deployed.
The rapidly deployable EGF must be able to conduct, amongst others, operations that
support the fight against organised crime and also be able to protect participants
of other civilian missions.
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Q.1.d. What are the structures related to the EGF?
Ans. The High Level Interdepartemental Committee (CIMIN)1, composed of representatives
from the responsible departements, acting as a management board;
The EGF Commander and its HQ, composed of a permanent core, located in Vicenza (Italy)
with 15 officers and 14 NCOs, that can be reinforced up to 50 persons;
An EGF force, not being a standing force, generated and deployed on an ad hoc basis.
It may be a rapidly deployed police force of a maximum of 800 police officers, under
a 30 days notice, including a deployed HQ in the field, for which the core will
be provided by the permanent HQ. As the police units that can reinforce an EGF mission
are identical to those declared in the framework of the Helsinki capacity catalogue
and at the capacity conference held in Brussels on November 19th, 2001, the total
strength of the Force could reach 2300, composed of :
- An operational component, dedicated to missions of general public security and
maintenance of public order;
- A crime-fighting component, including specialists in criminal investigation missions,
detection, gathering, information analysis and processing, protection and assistance
of individuals, anti-trafficking, fight against terrorism and other major crimes,
and other specialists. The component consists of modules and specialists assigned
to the EGF;
- A logistic support component, able to perform all activities related to supplies,
restocking, maintenance, recovery and evacuation of equipment, transportation, medical
and health care. If necessary, some of these functions can be provided by other
actors.
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Q.1.e. How is the EGF related to the European Union?
Ans. The EGF is related to the EU in four ways:
The EGF will be mainly composed of the same forces as those included by the Participants
in the Helsinki catalogue and the capacity of civilian crisis management, stemming
from the conference held in Brussels on November 19th ,2001, and re-established
during the Civilian Capabilities Commitment Conference on November 22nd ,2004;
The EGF will be, first and foremost, at the disposal of the EU;
The EGF is able to deploy robust, operational and pre-organised police units that
are fit for substitution and strengthening missions, in a rapid way. Being able
to do so the EGF capacities fit in smoothly with present EU crisis management concepts
(like the concept of Integrated Police Units) and operations and are likely to evolve
after the entry into force of the Constitution;
Participants in the EGF are all EU Member States.
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Q.1.f. In what way the EGF can be deployed?
Ans. The EGF can be deployed on request and under the mandate of international
organisations as the EU, the UN, the OSCE, NATO or of an ad hoc coalition, either
on its own (because the mission is so specific that only gendarmerie-like forces
can be deployed) or together with other military and/or police services. In these
cases the strategic management and political control is in the hands of the appropriate
body of the international organisation or ad hoc coalition.
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Q.1.g. Who decides on an EGF deployment?
Ans. - In case of a request the CIMIN decides unanimously whether or not the EGF will
participate in the operation. The contribution to the EGF by the participating countries
is a national responsibility.
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Q.1.h. In what framework the EGF will be deployed?
Ans. The EGF will mainly be composed of the same forces as those included
by the State Parties in the Helsinki Headline Goal catalogue and the capacity of
civilian crisis management, stemming from the conference held in Brussels on November
19th, 2001. For this reason it will be, first and foremost, at the disposal of the
EU.
When the EGF is deployed under the political responsibility of another international
body or of an ad hoc coalition, the necessary pragmatic arrangements will be worked
out between the CIMIN and the organisation in charge.
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Q.1.i. Who gives the mandate for operations in which the
EGF is involved?
Ans. The EGF will always be deployed on a clear legal basis. Usually the
mandate will be based on relevant UN Security Council Resolutions or on political
guidelines from EU or other international organisations that intervene in the field
of crisis management.
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OPERATIONS
Q.2.a. When will the EGF be operational?
Ans. EGF Participants are aiming at a fully operational HQ, as of summer
2005. Once the HQ has become operational, the Force might be deployed.
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Q. 2.b. What are the capabilities of the EGF?
Ans. The EGF can be deployed in two major areas of crisis management operations:
that of substituting and that of strengthening the local police forces.
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Q. 2.c. What are the tasks the EGF can perform?
Ans. In accordance with the mandate of each operation, the EGF can perform
a broad spectrum of activities related to its own police capability, such as:
- performing security and public order missions;
- monitoring of and advice for local police in their day-to-day work, including
criminal investigation work;
- conducting public surveillance, border policing and general intelligence;
- performing criminal investigation work, covering detection of offences, tracing
of offenders and their transfer to the appropriate judicial authorities;
- protecting people and property and keeping order in the event of public disturbances;
- training of police officers as regards international standards;
- training of instructors, particularly through co-operation programmes.
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Q. 2.d. What kind of support does the EGF need in operations?
Ans. From shared experiences in recent crises, the setting in which police
forces can fully operate needs to include:
political support from the local administration and/or, when acting on behalf of
an international organisation, from the representative of the organisation that
issued the mandate (SRSG, EUSR etc);
- a clear and comprehensive mandate including legal procedures, such as:
- a clear and applicable penal code and penal procedure code;
- magistrates and courts with a capacity to take penal decisions;
- an effective capacity to enforce penal response;
- intelligence support, from local administration and other actors in the field,
in order to ensure convenient security for the force, to support investigations
on war criminals, criminal organisations etc. In that field, interception techniques,
language experts and local staff can be required;
- logistics, transportation, communication and public information.
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Q. 2.e. What is the chain of command and control?
Ans. The CIMIN is the political body that takes general political decisions
and provides guidance and orientation to the EGF Commander (COMEUROGENDFOR);
In case of the deployment of the EGF in a crisis management operation, the strategic
political supervision will rest on the political authority of the international
organisation;
COMEUROGENDFOR, at the operational level, is in charge of planning, training, and
advising the EGF Participants to improve inter-operability and, on request, contribute
to strategic decision-making process;
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AFFILIATION-MEMBERSHIP
A clear distinction has to be made between affiliation-membership of other EU forces
and the co-operation or contribution in operational and training activities.
Q.3.a. What is the military status of the police forces?
Ans. The civilian police capabilities that have been committed to the EU
(in the Police Headline Goal and the upcoming EU Civilian Capabilities Commitment
Conference) comprise both police services with civilian status and police forces
with military status of the gendarmerie type. This diversity is a qualitative asset
for the European Union (as was concluded in Conference of National Police Commissioners
in 2001 and other meetings and was recalled at the Warnsveld Chiefs of Police Conference
on international police missions, in October 2004).
In case of an operation involving both military and police components, the EU's
action on Petersburg-tasks requires a strong synergy between the police and military
components of such an operation. This will be ensured by close co-ordination between
the two components, taking into account the constraints on the deployment of Member
States police forces.
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Q.3.b. What are the prerequisites to join the EGF?
Ans. As mentioned in the Declaration of Intent, EGF membership is open to
EU Member States as far as they have a police force with a military status that
has full police powers. The police forces must be capable to respond to the full
spectrum of police missions, both under civilian and military control. The CIMIN
will examine applications of potential new EGF participants.
Candidate Member States to the EU, under the conditions expressed above, can take
part as an observer to the activities of EGF. The CIMIN will examine applications
of such Candidates and will grant the observer status.
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Q.3.c. Is it possible for a military police force to become
a member of the EGF?
Ans. In principle, a military police force is not a police force with a military
status and full police powers. The military police is, in other words, not a gendarmerie-type
police force. Therefore, a military police force cannot be given an EGF membership.
Recognising that a number of countries have initiated studies aiming at changing
military police forces to gendarmerie-type structures, the present EGF Participants
welcome initiatives of one or more of the Participants to provide advice and training
support in order to help facilitating institutional changes in other EU Member States.
By doing so the EGF Participants facilitate future EGF membership.
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Q.3.d. Is it possible for a civilian police force to become
a member of the EGF ?
Ans. A civilian police force can contribute in an EGF operation, under certain
conditions, but cannot join the EGF. As mentioned in the Presidency report annexed
to the Nice Treaty, all civilian police forces may not be placed temporarily under
the responsibility of the military authority entrusted with the protection of the
population due to their national rules and legislation, and precisely the possibility
to be deployed under military command is a key condition to be deployed in any circumstances.
As far as the EU is concerned, civilian police forces have declared their commitment
to the EU police capacities, during the Ministerial Conference in Brussels on November
19th,2001. There is a framework that allows these forces to be used for the benefit
of the EU, as for EGF, and these tools are to be seen as complementary.
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CONTRIBUTION WITH EGF TO AN INTERNATIONAL MISSION
Q.4.a. What are the requirements to participate with EGF
to an international mission?
Ans. First of all, it is important to realise that the majority of operations,
in which the EGF will be deployed, are police missions that, on request, take place
under the mandate of international organisations as the EU, the UN, the OSCE, NATO
or of an ad hoc coalition, either on its own (because the mission is so specific
that only gendarmerie-like forces can be deployed) or together with other military
and/or police forces.
This means that all police forces willing to take part to the mission, including
the EGF, have to meet with the requirements set by the international organisation
(EU, UN, OSCE, NATO) or by the ad hoc coalition.
Based on a decision of the CIMIN, third parties can contribute or support the EGF
in the field of police, or in other areas such as justice, humanitarian support
or civilian administration. Based on its assessments, the EGF can express the need
for military support in the areas of logistics, protection and information gathering.
Potential contributors are the armed forces of the States of the EGF Participants
or any other (identified) third party.
The EGF will identify the requirements for supporting units. The main focus for
this process of identification will be the final success of the mission, which remains
the permanent goal of the CIMIN.
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Q.4.b. Can military forces participate with EGF in an
international mission?
Ans. Yes. Military units can be required by the CIMIN in order to support
police operations in the field, among others, of strategic transportation, medical
support, logistics, information techniques etc. The final contribution must meet
the requirements set by the EGF and needs the approval of the CIMIN.
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Q.4.c. Can the EGF participate in an international mission
within a military framework ?
Ans. Yes. When there is a need for a civilian crisis management tool, the
EGF can, under certain circumstances, be deployed within a military framework.
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Q.4.d. Can a Military Police force participate with EGF
in an international mission?
Ans. Yes. Belonging to the military forces, a Military Police force can participate
under the same conditions as any other military unit.
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Q.4.e. Can a civilian police force participate with EGF
in an international mission?
Ans. Yes. A civilian police force can participate (as contributor) with EGF
in an international deployment. The earlier mentioned requirements have to be met
and are subject to the approval of the CIMIN.
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