Turks on duty for the EU from July 1

(B2) As usual, two new battlegroups will be on call on July 1 for six months. On one side, the Spaniards with the Portuguese and French; on the other, the Italians with the Romanians and... the Turks. A participation that should not go completely unnoticed, at a time when we are witnessing a resurgence of activism in Ankara, whether with Iran, Somalia or in the Middle East with the affair of the Gaza flotilla (1)

Especially since the Turkish participation will not only be symbolic. The Turks will provide, in fact, a fairly notable participation in the Italo-Romanian Battlegroup: on the Land side, an infantry company and several support units; on the sea side, a support unit and additional contributions for an escort group; air side, probably a C130 type aircraft. A civil-military cooperation team could also be added. The OHQ of this battlegroup will be located in Rome.

It should be noted that, for its part, the Franco-Spanish-Portuguese battlegroup should include 2300 people. The high-availability ground headquarters in Betera, near Valencia (Cuartel General Terrestre de Alta Disponibilidad or CGTAD) will serve as the projection FHQ. While the OHQ will be provided at Mont-Valérien (near Paris) and will be served mainly by the French, who will provide around fifty people for this purpose.

View battlegroup schedule for 2011 and beyond.

(NVP)

(Photo credit: NATO / US Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Aramis X. Ramirez)

(1) Read also: No Turc at the head of EUFOR Althea