A Political and Economic Dictionary of Western Europe, First Edition
Rapid Reaction Force (RRF)
The European Rapid Reaction Force (RRF) is a rapid reaction mechanism aimed at fulfilling the Petersberg Tasks that was formed by the pooling of the military capabilities of member states of the European Union (EU). At the meeting of the European Council held in Helsinki, Finland, in December 1999 a military capability target, the Headline Goal, was set.
It requires EU member states to be able to deploy 60,000 troops within 60 days, and that deployment to be sustainable for one year in support of Petersberg missions. The Petersberg Tasks include humanitarian and rescue tasks, peace-keeping tasks and the tasks of combat forces in crisis management, including peace enforcement.
The Berlin Plus Agreement of December 2002 established the modalities of co-operation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and allows the RRF to draw on common NATO assets if needed. Within the Council of the European Union a Political and Security Committee has been set up to assume the day-to-day direction of military operations if the Council agrees to deploy the RRF.
Jocelyn Mawdsley
University of Manchester
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