On the face of it, the European Union is to be congratulated on the decision of five member countries to form a 3,000-strong gendarmerie unit able to be sent at a month’s notice to trouble spots around the world. France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands have agreed to set up this force (the EGF) whose training and equipment are designed to allow it to work cohesively and effectively in areas where, after a conflict, law and order must be established.
There are, however, two important questions that need to be answered: On whose authority will this force be deployed and what are the real reasons for its establishment? It is clear that almost invariably the ultimate authority for the insertion anywhere of any international force such as the new EU gendarmerie must be the United Nations. There are obvious exceptions, such as when a country is recovering from a natural disaster and perhaps needs additional security against looting or simple organization and control to help with the recovery. In those circumstances, it is likely that the EU will be invited to send in its police unit. Equally, a state emerging from civil conflict and still rebuilding its own police force might seek EU assistance.
The guiding principle however has to be that the use of the EGF must be ultimately overseen in some manner by the United Nations. European governments involved in the EGF have no doubt been encouraged by the EU’s first ever “policing” action. Last December with UN blessing, 400 EU troops withdrew from Macedonia after six months in which they had seen the implementation of the peace deal between ethnic Albanian rebels and the government in Skopje. They were replaced by 200 EU police officers who have since been working successfully with their Macedonian colleagues.
It is generally accepted that ground troops are inadequate for ordinary police work. A soldier’s reflexes are trained for aggression. The qualifications for a police officer are of an altogether higher order. The reason for the EGF’s creation is less clear-cut. Certainly, all five EU countries involved are keen for a more integrated union and the EGF offers an early platform on which European policemen can learn to work together. The EGF founders may also see the force as a positive way of projecting European power and influence internationally. It is significant, however, that the Netherlands is participating from the start. The Dutch have not forgotten their terrible failure in Bosnia ten years ago which led directly to one of the most terrible crimes of postwar European history.
In principle therefore, a properly trained emergency police force capable of acting according to the law rather than a soldier’s rules of engagement is to be welcomed. It may well do a great deal of good. It is important also that the Europeans recognize that unless the unit is operating with the EU’s borders, the EGF must always be responsible to the international community and to the government which has requested their assistance.
