Brussels, 07/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - The official decision to launch the EU's military operation in the Central African Republic (CAR) will be made by the Foreign Affairs Council on Monday 10 February. The text of the decision, which establishes the legal basis for the operation, is ready and the only obstacle still in place, the parliamentary reservation of the United Kingdom, was lifted on Friday 7 February.
Since 28 January, the EU has held a United Nations mandate to launch military operations in CAR (see EUROPE 11006). Preparatory work has made considerable progress since French General Philippe Pontiès was appointed to the command of the operation. In the last few days, he has travelled to Bangui for an initial reconnaissance mission. He has still to finalise the operation plan (OPPLAN), which will provide a specific strategic framework and will outline the tactical objectives of EUFOR CAR. This plan is expected to be finalised in the next few days.
Once this final stage has been completed, the way will be clear for the formal call for contributions of the member states (Force Generation Conference). The ultimate objective is to gather at least 500 soldiers, to be deployed in the region of Bangui. The participation of third countries, specifically Canada, the United States, Georgia, Norway, Serbia and Turkey, in this operation, has been approved. A European source told EUROPE that the Georgian government had already indicated that it wished to provide at least 100 soldiers (one company), or around a fifth of the operation's total requirements. The Georgian authorities have, however, declined to confirm this. Additionally, initial indications of the joint costs have just been established, with an envelope of €29.5 million, but this could be increased by €3.7 million. On Friday 7 February, a European diplomat confirmed that the deployment of EUFOR CAR troops on the ground would start in late February. (JK/transl.fl)