The Italian Armed Forces encompass the Italian Army, the Italian Navy and the Italian Air Force. A fourth branch of the armed forces, known as the Carabinieri, take on the role as the nation's military police and are also involved in missions and operations abroad as a combat force. Despite not being a branch of the armed forces, the Guardia di Finanza is organized along military lines. These five forces comprise a total of 340,885 men and women with the official status of active military personnel, of which 167,057 are in the Army, Navy and Air Force. The President of the Italian Republic heads the armed forces as the President of the High Council of Defence established by article 87 of the Constitution of Italy. According to article 78, the Parliament has the authority to declare a state of war and vest the powers to lead the war in the Government.
The Malian Armed Forces consists of the Army, Republic of Mali Air Force, and National Guard. They number some 7,000 and are under the control of the Minister of Armed Forces and Veterans. The Library of Congress as of January 2005 stated that "[t]he military is underpaid, poorly equipped, and in need of rationalization. Its organisation has suffered from the incorporation of Tuareg irregular forces into the regular military following a 1992 agreement between the government and Tuareg rebel forces."
Eurocorps, located in the French city of Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin), is a multinational corps headquarters. Founded by France and Germany in 1992, it is today composed of personnel from six framework nations and five associated nations. The framework nations place the Eurocorps at the service of the European Union (EU) and NATO, which certified it in 2002 as one of its nine High Readiness Land Headquarters.
The Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) is the European Union's (EU) course of action in the fields of defence and crisis management, and a main component of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP).
The European Union Special Representatives (EUSR) are emissaries of the European Union with specific tasks abroad. While the EU's ambassadors are responsible for affairs with a single country, Special Representatives tackle specific issues, conflict areas or regions of countries. They answer directly to the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, currently Josep Borrell.
The Spanish Armed Forces are in charge of guaranteeing the sovereignty and independence of the Kingdom of Spain, defending its territorial integrity and the constitutional order, according to the functions entrusted to them by the Constitution of 1978. They are composed of: the Army, the Air and Space Force, the Navy, the Royal Guard, and the Military Emergencies Unit, as well as the so-called Common Corps.
Pieter Frans Norbert Jozef Raymond De Crem is a Belgian politician and member of Christian Democratic and Flemish (CD&V). He has been a Member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives since 1995. He headed the CD&V fraction in the Chamber of Representatives from 2003 to 2007. Since 1995, he has been the mayor of Aalter in East Flanders.
The European Security and Defence College (ESDC) is an EU body embedded in the External Action Service (EEAS) of the European Union (EU) that provides training and education at EU level in the field of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), which is part of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). The ESDC has limited legal capacity.
The Common Security and Defence Policy Service Medal is an international military decoration awarded to individuals, both military and civilian, who have served with CSDP missions. Since the 1990s the European Union has taken a greater role in military missions both in Europe and abroad. These actions were taken under the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), which is implemented by the European Union Military Staff, a department of the EU. To recognize service in these missions the EU authorized the creation of a medal with a common obverse and reverse, to which clasps featuring the missions' name are attached to the ribbon bar.
Operation Newcombe was the code name for two separate and concurrent British non-combat military operations in Mali. One operation involved logistical and airlift support for the French-led Operation Barkhane, whilst the other encompassed peacekeeping in support of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). The operation was first launched on 13 January 2013 by Prime Minister David Cameron and initially involved strategic airlift and aerial reconnaissance. It later saw the deployment of a detachment of Chinook transport helicopters, before shifting its emphasis to UN peacekeeping in 2020. The operation ultimately drew to a close on 14 November 2022 due to political instability in the country.
The European Union Capacity Building Mission in Niger was a civilian capacity-building mission in Niger, launched by the EU in 2012 under its Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). Between 5 June 2023 and 30 June 2024, the German judge Katja Dominik was Chief of Mission.
The European Union Training Mission Somalia is a training operation for the Somali Armed Forces conducted by military officials from European Union states.
Operation Sophia, formally European Union Naval Force Mediterranean, was a military operation of the European Union that was established as a consequence of the April 2015 Libya migrant shipwrecks with the aim of neutralising established refugee smuggling routes in the Mediterranean. The operational headquarters was located in Rome. The EU mandate for the operation ended on March 31, 2020. Operation Irini is the successor operation.
EUCAP Sahel Mali is a European Union civilian crisis management mission in Mali, with its headquarters in the capital Bamako. It is a non-executive capacity building mission that was launched on 15 January 2015, following an official invitation by the Malian government. The Mission supports the security sector reform and the strengthening of governance and accountability of the Malian internal security forces (ISF).
This article outlines the present structure of the European Union's Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), a part of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) based on articles 42–46 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU). Article 42.2 of TEU states that the CSDP includes the 'progressive framing' of a common Union defence policy, and will lead to a common defence, when the European Council of national heads of state or government, acting unanimously, so decides.
The European Union Training Mission in the Central African Republic (EUTM-RCA) is a European Union multinational training mission headquartered in Bangui, Central African Republic.
EUTM-Moz is a European Union multinational military training mission headquartered in Maputo, Mozambique.
Germany–Mali relations gained depth and intensity in the 2010s as the German government stepped up its efforts to stabilize the Sahel region, and there were an increasing number of bilateral state visits. Germany is also increasingly engaged in security policy in Mali.
The Operational Command of the Bundeswehr (EinsFüKdoBw) in Schwielowsee near Potsdam is a Bundeswehr headquarters responsible for operational missions. It is directly subordinate to the Federal Ministry of Defence, and has been directly subordinate to the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr since April 1, 2012. It was established in 2001.
Brig. Gen. Santiago Fernandez Ortiz-Repiso
Austria 
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Greece 
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Italy 
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Luxembourg 
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Montenegro 
Netherlands 
Portugal 
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Sweden 