France assumes command of the European Maritime Force (EUROMARFOR), relieving Portugal.

It will be Spain’s turn in the next rotation in 2021.

The command relief ceremony took place on Thursday 19th on board the French warship ‘Tonnerre’ at Toulon Naval Base, where the Portuguese Fleet Commander Henrique Gouveia e Melo (COMNAV), was relieved by the French Admiral Jean-Philippe Rolland (ALFAN) as EUROMARFOR Commander for the next two years.

The ceremony, chaired by the Chief of Staff of the French Navy, Admiral Prazuck, was attended by various civilian and military authorities of the four nations that are part of this European force. Admiral Manuel Garat Caramé (ALFLOT) represented the Spanish Navy.

During the French tenure, there are plans to celebrate the 25th anniversary of EUROMARFOR that will take place next year. The next rotation of the force, as of September 2021, will correspond to Spain.

EUROMARFOR is a multinational Force tasked with naval, air and amphibious operations. Its arrangement depends on the mission entrusted. It was created in 1995 when France, Italy, Portugal and Spain agreed to set up a Naval Force capable of undertaking the different missions defined in the ‘Petersberg Declaration’, such as maritime control, humanitarian missions, peacekeeping operations, crisis response and peace enforcement operations.

Available primarily to the European Union, the force can also be deployed both within the framework of NATO operations, acting as part of the European element of the Atlantic Alliance, and under the mandate of other international organizations, like the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe or any other multinational coalition.

In 2019 the Spanish contribution included the SP MINEX exercise with the minehunter ‘Segura’ and the participation of frigate ‘Victoria’ in the CONTEX-PHIBEX exercise in Portugal.