Evrópuherinn æfir í Afríku

Tæplega fjögur þúsund hermenn, 18 flugvélar og 105 farartæki stunduðu hernaðaræfingar við Senegal undir merkjum Evrópuhersins. Samkvæmt vefsíðum sem fylgjast með hernaði og vígbúnaði er hernaðarsamstarf Evrópusambandsins að taka á sig ákveðnari mynd eftir að skipulagsform var ákveðið í byrjun aldar.

The IAE was founded in 2000 by Britain, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain to boost European amphibious capacity which can be used by the European Union or within the NATO framework.

 

Hernaðaráætlanir Evrópusambandsins gera ráð fyrir 50 til 60 þúsund manna hraðliði sem getur með skömmum fyrirvara mætt á átakasvæði. Eða eins og segir í umfjöllun sérfræðinga

Under this objective (known as the "Helsinki Headline Goal"), the Member States undertook to be able to

1. deploy rapidly (within 60 days) and
2. sustain (for at least one year)
3. military forces capable of the full range of Petersberg tasks as set out in the Amsterdam Treaty [humanitarian and rescue tasks, peacekeeping, and crisis management – including peace-making], including those which would require
4. significant forces of up to corps level (up to 15 brigades, or 50 000 to 60 000 persons).

The Member States must also be able to deploy smaller rapid response elements with very high readiness. These forces must be self-sustaining, with the necessary command, control and intelligence capabilities, logistics, other combat support services and additionally, as appropriate, air and naval elements. The Member States of the European Union have also established common capability goals (command and control, reconnaissance and strategic transport).

Lissabonsáttmálinn skaut traustari stoðum undir hernaðaruppbyggingu Evrópusambandsins.