New EU police force inaugurated in Italy

A European military police force primed for rapid deployment worldwide was formally inaugurated in Verona on Monday by defence and interior ministers from the five participating EU countries.

The force, to be based at Vicenza in northern Italy, will be ready to intervene in situations where law and order needs to be restored in post-conflict situations, or to help in transitions from military to civilian operations.

Headquarters staff at the new European Gendarmerie will consist of 30 officers from the five countries, led by Colonel Pietro Barbano of Italy's Carabinieri.

The Gendarmerie will have a rapid-reaction element, led by a French general, which will be capable of deploying 800 troops within 30 days' notice. French Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie and her Italian and Dutch counterparts, Antonio Martino and Henk Kamp, as well as the interior ministers of Spain and Portugal, Jose Suarez and Antonio da Costa, took part in the inauguration ceremony.

In a joint statement, the ministers described the creation of the force as "an important step" in establishing a European defense system.

The force was established in September 2004 in the Dutch town of Noorwijk to include the five EU states which maintain paramilitary police forces.