The Civil Guard, the second most prominent force of the international European gendarmerie

Madrid, October 18 (EFE).- The Civil Guard is the second largest contributor, with 578 personnel deployed, to the international missions of EUROGENDFOR, the European police force with a military status, which has been in existence for nineteen years. The European gendarmerie, which commemorates the Day of EUROGENDFOR today, has deployed a total of 3,074 gendarmes in 25 international crisis management missions in Europe, Africa, Asia, and America. PUBLICITY Nine of these operations are currently active, ranging from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Somalia, Ukraine, and the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. These figures cover all interventions developed from the first deployment in November 2007 until October 1, 2026. "The balance accredits the operational work of a force that has acted in the service of the European Union, the United Nations, and NATO in scenarios where ordinary civil police cannot yet operate and conventional armed forces do not constitute the appropriate tool," a statement by the Civil Guard indicates. PUBLICITY Civil and military The hybrid nature of the Civil Guard makes it especially useful in this type of missions, as the European gendarmerie acts interchangeably under civil or military command, according to the requirements of the mission. PUBLICITY "It is an operational police force, pre-organized, robust, and capable of rapid deployment, trained to execute the full spectrum of police missions in crisis management operations," the note states. "Its military status and hybrid nature constitute its main strategic advantage: its personnel are trained and authorized to restore and guarantee public order, protect persons and property, guard borders, investigate criminal offenses, and instruct local police forces in accordance with the most rigorous international standards," it adds. PUBLICITY "The force intervenes in that critical phase of a crisis where the security situation is excessively complex for conventional civil police forces, but where the priority work is public safety and law enforcement, not warfare," it explains. "This versatility makes EUROGENDFOR a key tool in the face of emerging challenges such as hybrid threats, which blur the line between peace and armed conflict," the note also says. Thus, in its 19 years of service, this force has fulfilled the requests of NATO, with 1,490 gendarmes deployed in allied operations in Afghanistan; of the European Union (EU) with 1,206 gendarmes deployed throughout 20 missions of civil and military crisis management and of the United Nations (UN) with 378 gendarmes deployed in 3 peacekeeping missions. EUROGENDFOR is currently providing active service in Ukraine (EUAM Ukraine, with 28 gendarmes since 2016), in the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt (EUBAM Rafah, with 84 gendarmes to date), Georgia, Moldova, Mozambique, and in the Palestinian Territories (EUPOL COPPS). EFE