History
The French Defence Minister 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.
Read more about this topic: European Gendarmerie Force
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