Stockholm, which has supported the five-nation Nordic battle group, regretted that the EU did not give the green light to sending it to Chad and the Central African Republic last year, AFP added. “During the Swedish presidency, we would like to initiate an open discussion about the usability and flexibility of battle groups - without changing the battle group concept,” he told the WEU, which is concerned with European defence. “However, as you are well aware, the battle groups have not yet been used,” said Lund, speaking on behalf of Sweden‘s foreign minister Carl Bildt. “On the military side, I would like to draw your attention to the use of battle groups - a potentially very useful tool to the support of international peace and security,” Lund told a WEU meeting in Paris. In terms of a standby roster at least two EUBG are at the ready at any given time and remain so for six months. (The Nordic BG is 2800 strong and the Czech-Slovak BG 2600). The ADIT says in its latest Bulletin Sweden “would like to increase their flexibility in order to facilitate their use.įrench news agency AFP last month reported that Sweden‘s ambassador to France, Gunnar Lund, had given the Western European Union notice of its intent.Īn EUBG consists of around 1500 soldiers who are meant to be rapidly deployed within 10 days in a emergency event outside the EU borders, while waiting for the arrival of others troops. The 15 units, scattered across the EU, have notionally been fully operational since January 1, 2007, but have never deployed. The French ADIT research agency says Sweden will be leading an European Union rethink of the 15 European Union Battle Groups (EUBG) established earlier in the decade to act as high-readiness battalion-sized rapid reaction forces.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |