Eurocorps, located in the French city of Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin), is a multinational

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

headquarters. Founded by

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in 1992, it is today composed of personnel from six framework nations and five associated nations. The framework nations place the Eurocorps at the service of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

(EU) and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

, which certified it in 2002 as one of its nine High Readiness Land Headquarters (HRF (L) HQ). The precedents of the Eurocorps date back to 1989, when German Chancellor

Helmut Kohl Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to 1998. Kohl's 16-year tenure is the longes ...

and the President of the French Republic, François Mitterrand, initiated military cooperation by establishing the Franco-German Defense and Security Council and creating a joint brigade, which became operational in 1991. Subsequently, in 1992, at the La Rochelle summit, both countries signed the report that led to the creation of Eurocorps. That same year, the first German and French officers joined the unit. In 1993 Belgium joined the unit, followed by Spain a year later. In 1995 it was officially declared operational, and the following year Luxembourg joined. In 2022 Poland became the sixth framework nation. Currently there are five associated countries: Greece, Turkey, Italy, Austria and Romania. There have also been, during different periods, military personnel from Canada (2003-2007), the United Kingdom (1999-2002), the Netherlands (1999-2002) and Finland (2002-2005). The Eurocorps was formally established on a legal basis by the

Treaty concerning the Eurocorps and the status of its headquarters A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal perso ...

, also known as "Treaty of Strasbourg", an agreement signed in Brussels on 22 November 2004 by the defense ministers of the five member countries at that time (Germany, France, Belgium, Spain and Luxembourg) and ratified by their respective national parliaments. It became effective on 26 February 2009. The purpose of the treaty, as stated in article 1, is to ''"define the fundamental principles relating to the missions, organization and functioning of the Eurocorps".'' Article 2 defines the European military group as "''the multinational army corps consisting of the Headquarters and the units in respect of which the Contracting Parties have effected the transfer of command to the Commanding General of the Eurocorps".'' As for Eurocorps missions, article 3 states that they may be entrusted to it in the context of the United Nations, the

Western European Union The Western European Union (WEU; french: Union de l'Europe occidentale, UEO; german: Westeuropäische Union, WEU) was the international organisation and military alliance that succeeded the Western Union (WU) after the 1954 amendment of the 1948 ...

(WEU) and the

North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

(NATO) evacuation missions, humanitarian missions, peacekeeping or crisis management.

Participating countries

Six countries participate in the corps as member states. The treaty allows for any EU member state to become a member of Eurocorps, subject to the approval of existing Eurocorps members. Additionally, there are five associated members. The Eurocorps is staffed by personnel from both framework and partner nations.

Participating members

* – since 1993 * – since 1992 * – since 1992 * – since 1996 * – since 2022 * – since 1994

Associated members

* – 2002-11; since 2021 * – since 2002 * – since 2009 * - since 2016 * – since 2002

Former associated members

* – 2003-07 * – 2002-06

History

Eurocorps has its origins in the Franco-German Brigade, created in 1989. Following this approach, on October 14th, 1991, France and Germany announced their intention to further strengthen European defense integration through the establishment of a corps headquarters. During the Franco-German summit in La Rochelle on 22 May 1992, French President François Mitterrand and German Chancellor

decided to launch the project and to establish the Eurocorps headquarters. Although initially it was a Franco-German association, the Eurocorps was soon opened up to all member states of the

(WEU). On June 19, the European Union issued the Petersberg Declaration, which defined those missions that could be entrusted to the WEU and that Eurocorps would also undertake: ensuring the common defense of allied countries, carrying out peacekeeping or peace-keeping operations for the benefit of the United Nations or the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, as well as other missions of a humanitarian nature. On July 1, 1992, a provisional General Staff is installed in the French city of Strasbourg to create the foundations of the Eurocorps Headquarters. On January 21, 1993, an agreement was signed with

SACEUR The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) is the commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) and head of ACO's headquarters, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). The commander is ...

placing the Eurocorps at the disposal of the

. On October 1 of the same year, the Eurocorps headquarters was definitively established in Strasbourg, on the basis of the General Staff activated a few months earlier. During these first years, several countries joined the Franco-German initiative. On October 12, 1993,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

joined the Eurocorps with a mechanized division; on July 1, 1994, the Spanish Council of Ministers authorized the participation of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

with a mechanized division;

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

joined the project on May 7, 1996. In November 1995, the Eurocorps reached the necessary conditions to be officially declared operational. At that time the Eurocorps had the following units permanently affiliated: the 1st French Armored Division, the 10th German Armored Division, the 1st Belgian Mechanized Division, which included a Luxembourg reconnaissance company, the Mechanized Division "Brunete" and the Franco-German Brigade, totaling 50,000 troops, 645 tanks, 1,400 armored vehicles and 360 artillery pieces. This situation continued until 1999, when the heads of state and government of the five Eurocorps framework nations declared at the European Council held in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

(3 and 4 June) their agreement to ''"adapt the European Army Corps, and in particular its Headquarters, to the new strategic scenario in order to convert it into a European Rapid Reaction Corps, responding to the European Union's desire to have forces adapted to crisis management operations".'' The political statement was subsequently developed in the Luxembourg Report, november 1999, which set out the general guidelines for the aforementioned transformation, once again respecting the dual transatlantic and European orientation, by keeping the Eurocorps at the disposal of NATO and the EU for crisis management operations. Poland was accepted as a member in 2010. This was expected to become effective from 1 January 2016, but was delayed to January 2017. However, a change in government with the 2015 Polish election led to the application for full membership being withdrawn in favour of remaining an associate member. In November 2021, Poland again expressed an interest in joining as a full member, and it became a framework member in 2022. On 25 February 2003,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

signed a treaty which allowed them to send staff to the headquarters of the corps. Finland remained an associated nation of the corps until 2005, and Austria until 2011.

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

became an associated nation in April 2016, while Austria rejoined as an associate nation in 2021. In addition, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

have sent liaison officers to the headquarters of the corps. The Eurocorps has adopted a modular philosophy and the affiliation of large units is no longer permanent. Today, such affiliation is based on the actual missions in which the Eurocorps has to intervene and its only permanent units are the Headquarters and a multinational support brigade. Eurocorps is today one of the nine NATO High Readiness Land Headquarters (HRF (L) HQ), having been certified as such in 2003 and is fully integrated in the NATO Response Force (NRF) rotation system, the Eurocorps HQ is also offered to the EU for crisis management operations as a Land Component Command or

European Union Battlegroups Headquarters European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...

(EUBG).

Badge

The chest badge was created by an officer of the French Army's employment office, Lieutenant Colonel Pellabeuf. This badge, approved on

June 18 Events Pre-1600 * 618 – Li Yuan becomes Emperor Gaozu of Tang, initiating three centuries of Tang dynasty rule over China. * 656 – Ali becomes Caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate. * 860 – Byzantine–Rus' War: A fleet of about ...

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

under the number G4000, was produced by the Delsart company and, by order of the Chief of Staff, General Clerc, was worn for the first time on

November 5 Events Pre-1600 *1138 – Lý Anh Tông is enthroned as emperor of Vietnam at the age of two, beginning a 37-year reign. *1499 – The '' Catholicon'', written in 1464 by Jehan Lagadeuc in Tréguier, is published; this is the first Bre ...

, during the official ceremony of creation of the corps and in the presence of the Ministers of Defense of the three participating countries at that time (Germany, France and Belgium). Its description is "an insignia in the form of a shield symbolizing the defense of the European continent". Europe is represented by two symbols: * The blue background and the golden stars of the European flag, * A symbolic silhouette of the continent that allows us to hide some of the stars and thus avoid over-identification with the European Union or the Council of Europe. On the other hand, a sword reminds us that the Eurocorps is a large military unit. File:Insigne de poitrine de l'Eurocorps.jpg, File:Eurocorps prise d'armes Strasbourg 31 janvier 2013 05.JPG, File:Eurocorps prise d'armes Strasbourg 31 janvier 2013 01.jpg,

Organisation

Politico-military direction

The Eurocorps belongs to the six framework nations and is not subordinate to any other supranational defense organization. It is deployed on the authority of the Common Committee representing the member states, the Chief of Defence, and the Political Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its mission is to ensure the political-military direction and the coordination and conditions of employment of the forces and it is the collegiate body in charge of maintaining relations with Western defense alliances ( EU and

) and other international organizations. This committee considers requests for support from multinational organizations such as the UN,

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

. The Corps can also be deployed at the request of the framework nations.

Structure

The Eurocorps Headquarters is composed of a Command Group, a General Staff, a Multinational Support Brigade and the NSD.

Command Group

* Located in the "Aubert de Vincelles" barracks. It is composed of the Eurocorps lieutenant general, a second-in-command general, a chief of staff and the heads of the various divisions of the General Staff.

General Staff

* Located in the "Aubert de Vincelles" barracks. Multinational in nature, it is designed to be used with great flexibility and to be completed in a progressive and balanced manner with personnel from the different participating countries. The working language is English.

Multinational Support Brigade

* Located in the "Aubert de Vincelles" and "Lizé" barracks. It is made up of military personnel from the various member countries. Its task is to provide the necessary support for the deployment and support of the HQ (communications, protection, food, transport, accommodation...)

NSD

* National support detachment. It is in charge of national issues of the different framework states and is located at the barracks of "Lizé".

Relationship with EU defence policy

The European Corps is presently not established at the EU level (referred to as the Common Security and Defence Policy, CSDP); it is for instance not a project of the

Permanent Structured Cooperation The Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) is the part of the European Union's (EU) security and defence policy (CSDP) in which 25 of the 27 national armed forces pursue structural integration (the exceptions being Denmark and Malta). Based o ...

(PESCO) of the CSDP. The European Corps and its assets may however contribute in the implementation of the CSDP, when made available as a ''multinational force'' in accordance with article 42.3 of the

Treaty on European Union The Treaty on European Union (2007) is one of the primary Treaties of the European Union, alongside the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The TEU form the basis of EU law, by setting out general principles of the EU's ...

(TEU).

Operations

The corps has: *From May 1998 to January 2000: deployment in the Balkans, where Eurocorps participates in four successive contingents of the

Stabilization Force in

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

(SFOR). *Led KFOR III in

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

from 18 April 2000 to October 2000 *Led the ISAF6 Force in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

from 9 August 2004 to 11 February 2005. *From 1 July 2006, to 10 January 2007, the headquarters of the corps was the land component stand by element of the NATO Response Force 7. *From 1 July 2010 to 10 January 2011, the headquarters of the corps was the land component stand by element of the NATO Response Force 15 (NRF 15). *In 2012, the corps has deployed to ISAF in Afghanistan. *In the second semester the Eurocorps supported Germany with 57 soldiers in the EU mission EUTM Mali. *July 2016 to July 2017: twelve-month standby period as headquarters of the ground component of two successive rotations of the European Union Battle Group (EUBG). *From July 2016 to January 2018: deployment to the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

, where Eurocorps leads three successive contingents of the

European Union Training Mission in the Central African Republic The European Union Training Mission in the Central African Republic (EUTM-RCA) is a European Union multinational training mission headquartered in Bangui, Central African Republic. 8 EU member-states (France, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Portuga ...

(EUTM RCA). *In January 2020, Eurocorps takes a one-year NATO alert as command of the ground component of NATO Response Force 20. *First and second half of 2021

European Union Training Mission in Mali EUTM Mali (European Union Training Mission in Mali) is a European Union multinational military training mission headquartered in Bamako, Mali. 22 EU members (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece ...

(EUTM MALI). *Second half of 2021 and first half of 2022

(EUTM RCA) aims to advise and support the government in the training of the country's new armed forces, which are playing an important role in the stabilization of the country.

Eurocorps Commanding Generals

The key positions of the HQ, including that of its chief general, are assigned on a rotating basis among the nations. Since its foundation, the Heads of the Eurocorps have been as follows: * Lt. Gen. Helmut Willmann: 1993-1996 (Germany). * Lieutenant General Pierre Forterre: 1996-1997 (France) * Lieutenant General Léo Van Den Bosch: 1997-1999 (Belgium) * Lieutenant General Juan Ortuño Such: 1999-2001 (Spain) * Lieutenant General Holger Kammerhoff: 2001-2003 (Germany) * Lieutenant General Jean-Louis Py: 2003-2005 (France) * Lieutenant General Charles-Henri Delcour: 2005-2007 (Belgium) * Lieutenant General Pedro Pitarch Bartolomé: 2007-2009 (Spain) * Lieutenant General Hans-Lothar Domröse: 2009-2011 (Germany) * Lieutenant General Olivier de Bavinchove: 2011-2013 (France) * Lieutenant General Guy Buchsenschmidt: 2013-2015 (Belgium) * Lieutenant General Alfredo Ramírez Fernández: 2015-2017 (Spain) * Lieutenant General Jürgen Weigt: 2017-2019 (Germany) * Lieutenant General Laurent Kolodziej: 2019-2021 (France) * Lieutenant général Peter Devogelaere: 2021- (Belgium)

Notes

References

External links

* https://www.eurocorps.org/
A proposed evolution in the Eurocorps and ESDI in NATO
(French language)
An integrated European regiment: A proposed evolution in the Eurocorps and ESDI in NATO
{{Authority control Military units and formations established in 1992 Multinational units and formations Organizations based in Strasbourg 1992 in the European Economic Community 1992 establishments in France