Will the Franco-German battlegroup go to the Congo?
(B2) After France, yesterday, through a statement by Bernard Kouchner, Belgium — through its Minister for Foreign Affairs, Karel de Gucht, in an interview in the Free Belgium — considered it necessary to send a battle group of the EU in Congo, near Goma. The subject is now openly on the table in Brussels.
Urgent talk
A meeting of the 27 ambassadors of the political and security committee (PSC) of the EU has thus been convened for this Friday. The COPS, which usually meets on Fridays, had not scheduled a meeting on All Saints' Eve. All solutions - including sending military forces - are on the table. The item was also added to the agenda of the (regular) meeting of the Council of Foreign Affairs and Defense Ministers on 10 November. In the meantime, to resolve certain political difficulties, the Heads of State and Government could consider the question during their summit meeting on 7 November.
The EU rapid reaction force
The European Union has - on paper - a rapid reaction force of more than 3000 men. Two battle groups (or battle groups) of at least 1500 men are effectively on duty at European level, each semester (hence their name: GT1500 or BG1500). For this second semester, there are permanent: a British group and another formed around the Franco-German brigade (with Belgian, Spanish and Luxembourg elements). A battle group is normally made to be "projected" as a whole. Since it is autonomous, in means of support, transport and logistics. It is therefore the battle group "Franco-German" which would be most likely to be sent. A priori...
The problem of the Bundestag
But Germany is not very keen on a military solution. Any projection outside Europe of German soldiers indeed requires an agreement from the government and above all a mandate from the Bundestag. And those who remember the European operation in the Congo in 2006 (EUFOR) know that bringing in the Germans was not easy and required a certain political "pressure".
Un battle group with a german heart
Le battle group "Franco-German" includes about 2300 men - 1600 Germans, 400 French and 250 Belgians, 40 Spaniards and 20 Luxembourgers - commanded by the head of the Franco-German brigade, German General Andreas Berg. The heart of battle group is made up of several companies from the Bundeswehr Chasseurs Battalion (JgBtl292), which also includes a company from the French 110th Infantry Regiment (110th RI). Added to this are elements of the command and support battalion (BCS - mixed Franco-German unit), the armored artillery battalion 295 (PzArtBtl295) as well as the engineering 550 (PzPiKp550) reinforced with Belgian elements, from the 3rd regiment French Hussars "Esterhazy" (*), in charge of lighting. The medical component of battle group (Medevac) is provided by the Belgians, with a detachment of four Agusta helicopters.
The second battle group is provided by the British
It is formed from two battalions:
- The 2nd RRF (2nd Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers) from 1 July to 1 October. Until recently, this battalion was based in Cyprus and served as a reserve battalion in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2007, he was deployed to Afghanistan twice, the first with two companies, the second with one company.
- which will be succeeded by the 4 RIFLES (4th Battalion "The Rifles") from October 1 to December 31, 2008. The 4th Rifles is based in Bulford. And his previous operational engagement was in Iraq (in 2007).
(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)
(*) The "Sarkozy" regiment: By tradition, the hussar regiments bear the name of their founder and first commander, in this case, Count Valentin Ladislas Esterhazy, belonging to one of the oldest Hungarian noble families, who founded this corps in February 1764. Even if the revolution French removed the names of regiment, the tradition was preserved. This regiment is also often referred to, within the army, as the "Sarkozy regiment", in reference to the Hungarian identity of the President of the Republic.
(Photo: © NGV - certification of the staff of the Franco-German battlegroup - May 2008)
