The European Rapid Operational Force (EUROFOR) was a multinational

rapid reaction force A rapid reaction force / rapid response force (RRF), quick reaction force / quick response force (QRF), immediate reaction force (IRF), rapid deployment force (RDF), or quick maneuver force (QMF) is a military or law enforcement unit capable of ...

composed of forces from four states of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. It had a permanent staff capable of commanding operations, involving commitments of up to a Light Division in size. Eurofor was formed in May 1995 in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, and was answerable to the

Western European Union The Western European Union (WEU; , UEO; , WEU) was the international organisation and military alliance that succeeded the Western Union (alliance) , Western Union (WU) after the 1954 amendment of the 1948 Treaty of Brussels. The WEU implement ...

(WEU) directly. It was tasked with performing Petersberg tasks, including

humanitarian Humanitarianism is an ideology centered on the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotiona ...

peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities, especially military ones, intended to create conditions that favor lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed w ...

and

peace enforcement Peace enforcement is the use of various tactics, most notably military force to compel peace in a conflict, generally against the will of combatants. Peace enforcement missions permit the use of non-defensive armed force, unlike peacekeeping opera ...

missions. With the merger of several WEU elements into the

, Eurofor had by and large become part of the

Common Security and Defence Policy The Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) is the European Union's (EU) course of action in the fields of defence and crisis management, and a main component of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). The CSDP involves the de ...

. It was eventually transformed into an EU Battlegroup and was on standby from 1 July until 31 December 2011. On 2 July 2012, Eurofor was dissolved.

Operations

Eurofor has been involved in three deployments: *2000-2001: Mission Albania: In response to a refugee crisis in Albania following the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косовски рат, Kosovski rat) was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It ...

. The deployment was initially part of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

operation " Allied Harbor" and once NATO ground forces entered Kosovo, Eurofor's mission also incorporated the defence of NATO supply lines through Albania. *2003: Mission Macedonia: Under the wing of the

, as part of

EUFOR Concordia EUFOR Concordia was a European Union (EU) peacekeeping mission in the Republic of Macedonia (now North Macedonia), which started on 31 March 2003. The EU took over from NATO's operation Allied Harmony and deployed around 300 troops to provide secu ...

. Formally, Eurofor became answerable directly to the

, through the

Political and Security Committee The Political and Security Committee (PSC; sometimes referred to by its French ''COPS'' acronym derived from ''Comité politique et de sécurité'') is a permanent body within the European Union dealing with Common Foreign and Security Policy is ...

. This operation began on 31 March 2003 when the Macedonian authorities invited assistance with the goal of the establishment of a stable and secure environment in Macedonia (now North Macedonia). This mission officially ended on 15 December 2004. *2007:

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

References

{{Authority control Western European Union Military history of the European Union Rapid reaction force units and formations Military units and formations established in 1995 Military units and formations disestablished in 2012 Battlegroups of the European Union Florence 1995 establishments in Italy 2012 disestablishments in Italy 1995 in the European Union 2012 in the European Union Government agencies established in 1995 Government agencies disestablished in 2012

Operations

See also

References