The European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) has strengthened its capacity to contribute to the overall security situation in Kosovo ahead of the upcoming municipal elections through the deployment of members of the European Gendarmerie Force (EUROGENDFOR) forming EULEX’s Reserve Formed Police Unit (RFPU).

Today, the Head of Mission of EULEX, Giovanni Pietro Barbano, presided over an official ceremony - attended by the Ambassadors of the EUROGENDFOR contributing states - to welcome the highly specialized and skilled EUROGENDFOR Officers, provided by five participating forces: French Gendarmerie Nationale, Italian Carabinieri, Dutch Royal Netherlands Marechaussee, Polish Zandarmeria Wojskowa and Portuguese Guarda Nacional Republicana.

The RFPU will double the operational ability of EULEX Formed Police Unit (FPU) – entirely provided by the Polish Police - to fulfil the Mission’s mandate of contributing to the safety and security for all communities - including acting as Kosovo’s second security responder, if requested and necessary.

During their period of deployment, the RFPU will conduct visible patrolling, increasing the Mission’s situational awareness and ensuring inter-operability with the FPU, as well as with the Kosovo Police and the NATO-led KFOR mission.

Welcoming the RFPU, Barbano stressed: “As Reserve Formed Police Unit, you embody EULEX’s capacity to become stronger at any time, in any place. Your strength lies in your mobility and your readiness to be deployed at short notice. You are the Mission’s force that can adapt to shifting circumstances, respond rapidly to incidents supporting the FPU within Kosovo’s three-tiered security responder mechanism, delivering reassurance that public order will be upheld: your presence demonstrates that EULEX is equipped not only to monitor and advise but also to act, decisively and effectively, when circumstances require it”.

“I am proud to announce today your full operational capability,” Barbano concluded.

This is the sixth deployment of EULEX RFPU since March 2022.

EULEX is the largest ever deployed civilian Mission under the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) of the European Union. Its overall mission is to support selected rule of law institutions in Kosovo on their path towards increased effectiveness, sustainability, multi-ethnicity and accountability, free from political interference and in full compliance with international human rights standards and best European practices, through monitoring, mentoring and advising activities.

EULEX is Kosovo’s second security responder within a three-tiered security response mechanism where Kosovo Police is the first security responder, EULEX is the second, and the NATO-led KFOR mission is the third.

The European Gendarmerie Force, also known by its acronym EUROGENDFOR, is a European rapid reaction force comprising elements of several European gendarmerie forces. It is currently integrated with eleven countries: seven member states France, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Poland and Romania, one partner Lithuania and three observers: Türkiye, Moldova and Ukraine. EUROGENDFOR is responsible for carrying out policing duties within the scope of crisis management operations.