EU battlegroup
An EU battlegroup is a military unit adhering to the Common Security and Defence Policy of the European Union. Often based on contributions from a coalition of member states, each of the eighteen battlegroups consists of a battalion-sized force reinforced with combat support elements. Two of the battlegroups were to be capable for operational deployment at any one time. The civil power that oversees these battlegroups is the Council of the European Union.
The battlegroup initiative reached full operational capacity on 1 January 2007, but,, they had yet to see operational service. They were developed from existing ad hoc missions that the European Union had undertaken. The troops and equipment are drawn from the Member States of the European Union under the direction of a "lead nation". In 2004, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan welcomed the plans and emphasised the value and importance of the battlegroups in helping the UN deal with troublespots.
History
Background (1999–2005)
The initial idea to create EU multinational roughly battalion-sized combined arms units was first publicly raised at the European Council summit on 10–11 December 1999 in Helsinki. The Council produced the Headline Goal 2003 and specified the need for a rapid response capability that members should provide in small forces at high readiness. The idea was reiterated at a Franco-British summit on 4 February 2003 in Le Touquet which highlighted as a priority the need to improve rapid response capabilities, "including initial deployment of land, sea and air forces within 5–10 days." This was again described as essential in the "Headline Goal 2010".Operation Artemis in 2003 showed an EU rapid reaction and deployment of forces in a short time scale – with the EU going from Crisis Management Concept to operation launch in just three weeks, then taking a further 20 days for substantial deployment. Its success provided a template for the future rapid response deployments allowing the idea to be considered more practically. The following Franco-British summit in November of that year stated that, building on the experience of the operation, the EU should be able and willing to deploy forces within 15 days in response to a UN request. It called specifically for "battlegroup sized forces of around 1500 land forces, personnel, offered by a single nation or through a multinational or framework nation force package".
On 10 February 2004, France, Germany and the United Kingdom released a paper outlining the "battlegroup concept". The document proposed a number of groups based on Artemis that would be autonomous, consisting of about 1500 personnel and deployable within 15 days. These would be principally in response to UN requests at short notice and can be rapidly tailored to specific missions. They would concentrate on bridging operations, preparing the group before a larger force relieved them, for example UN or regional peacekeepers under UN mandate. The plan was approved by all groups in 2004 and in November that year the first thirteen battlegroups were pledged with associated niche capabilities.
Early development (2005–2015)
From 1 January 2005 the Battlegroups reached initial operational capacity; full operational capacity was reached on 1 January 2007. Although EU member states were initially highly motivated to volunteer to fill up the roster, the fact that participating member states have to cover their own costs, which especially burdened the smaller states, has made them more reluctant. Besides, many EU member states had simultaneous obligations to fulfill for ISAF and the NATO Response Force, amongst others. This combined with the fact that EU Battlegroups have never been deployed, despite several occasions in which they according to various experts could or should have been, has led to increasing gaps in the standby roster. Joint funding and actual usage may resolve these issues.MPCC, EDF and PESCO (2016–2020)
On 23 June 2016, the Brexit referendum resulted in a vote in favour of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union. Since the UK and France were the largest military powers within the EU, this would mean a serious reduction in forces available for common European defence. On 28 June, High Representative Federica Mogherini presented a new plan, the European Union Global Strategy on Security and Foreign Policy, for rigorous further European military integration between the EU member states. These included more cooperation when planning missions, training and exercising soldiers, and the development of a European defence industry. For the EU Battlegroups specifically, the plan aims to remove the obstacles preventing their rapid deployment, such as the lack of a European military headquarters. Although stressing that NATO will remain the most important defence organisation for many EU countries, Mogherini stated that the Union should be able to operate 'autonomously if necessary' on security matters. Referring to the EU's diplomacy and development record, she said that 'Soft power is not enough', and that in a less secure world, especially after Brexit, common action was needed more than ever.On 14 November 2016, the 56 European Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defence agreed to the European Union Global Strategy on Security and Foreign Policy. This included new possibilities for the rapid deployment of EU Battlegroups with aerial support for civil and military operations in conflict zones outside Europe, for example, before a UN peacekeeping force can arrive. Although Mogherini said the Strategy was 'not a European army' or a 'NATO duplicate', the recent U.S. presidential election of Donald Trump, who had previously implicitly threatened to abandon NATO if its European member states continued to fail in meeting their funding obligations, influenced the European Ministers' decision as well. Besides Brexit and the election of Trump, Russia's military expansionism and the European migrant crisis motivated them as well, making them agree relatively easily, which analysts regarded as a breakthrough.
On 6 March 2017, the foreign and defence ministers agreed to establish a small European command centre in Brussels for military training missions abroad, which could grow out to become a European military 'headquarters' in the future. This Military Planning and Conduct Capability was confirmed and established by the Council of the European Union on 8 June 2017. This came one day after the European Commission launched the European Defence Fund, comprising €5.5 billion per year, to 'coordinate, supplement and amplify national investments in defence research, in the development of prototypes and in the acquisition of defence equipment and technology'. Until then, the lack of a common military fund had been the main obstacle to the effective operational deployment of the EU Battlegroups. An agreement on Permanent Structured Cooperation in Defence was reached at 22–23 June EU summit in Brussels. A June 2017 Eurobarometer opinion poll showed that 75% of Europeans supported a common European security and defence policy, and 55% even favoured a European army. Political leaders such as Dutch PM Mark Rutte commented that a 'European army' was not in the making, however.
Strategic Compass and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine (2020–present)
During the German EU presidency in the second half of 2020, the EU Common Security and Defence Policy began development of the Strategic Compass for Security and Defence, as of November 2021 envisioning 'substantially modified EU battlegroups' of 5,000 soldiers by 2025. While EU foreign chief Josep Borrell emphasised the EU intervention force should not be in competition with NATO, it was important to reduce operational dependency on the United States to allow EU military formations to function more autonomously, as had become more apparent during the August 2021 Kabul airlift. There continued to be problems in gathering enough troops together, and at the time only one EU Battlegroup of the standard two was available on stand-by.The Strategic Compass was eventually adopted in March 2022. Although it had already been in development since late 2020, the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine accelerated the development and adoption of the Strategic Compass on March 2022 in Brussels at the meeting of EU foreign and defence ministers, who jointly strongly condemned Russia's actions, made a strong commitment to the complementary cooperation between the EU and NATO, and discussed plans to increase the EU's defensive capabilities. As part of the Strategic Compass, it was decided to create the EU Rapid Deployment Capacity by further developing the EU Battlegroups 'to be able to act quickly and appropriately, in both civilian and military missions, in the event of a crisis.' As leader of the EU Battlegroup 2025, Germany would provide a core of the new EU RDC, supported by contributions of other EU member states. At the late May 2022 planning conference for the EU Battlegroup 2025 in Vienna involving 10 EU states, it was decided that the RDC concept was to be finalised by the end of 2022, the advanced battlegroup would include up to 5,000 soldiers from Germany and the Netherlands, Austria, Hungary, Croatia, and other member states, joint exercises and training would commence in 2023, the force was to be fully operational by 2025, and would be deployed for 12 months in areas up to 6,000 kilometres measured from Brussels. Aside from ground troops, the new force was to include space and cyber capabilities, special forces and strategic airlift capacities, and, depending on requirements, air and naval forces. Another EUBG 2025 planning conference was held in September 2022 at the Multinational Joint Headquarters Ulm, which would likely also serve as the future headquarters at the military-strategic level.
In May 2025, the battlegroup of 5,000 soldiers was operationalized.