Eurocorps Eurocorps ( also as " European Corps " , " Corps of European Union " ) is an intergovernmental , standing army corps headquartered in Strasbourg , France . The force was created in May 1992 , activated in October 1993 and declared operational in 1995 . Five countries participate in Eurocorps as " framework nations " : Belgium , France , Germany , Luxembourg and Spain . Additionally , Greece ( since 2002 ) , Poland ( 2003 ) , Italy ( 2009 ) and also Turkey ( 2002 ) ( non - member of the EU ) have pledged to contribute personnel to the staff . 25 February 2003 , the EU nations Austria and Finland signed in a ceremony in Strasbourg , a treaty on the basis of which they now seconded staff in the Strasbourg headquarters of the Eurocorps . Finland remained at Eurocorps until 2005 , Austria until 2011 . Eurocorps comprises approximately 1 , 000 soldiers stationed in the headquarters in Strasbourg . The French - German Brigade with 5000 troops , ( under operational command ) stationed at Müllheim , Donaueschingen , Immendingen , Sigmaringen , Meßstetten , Stetten am kalten Markt , Villingen - Schwenningen in Germany and Illkirch - Grafenstaden in France . The force consist of 60 , 000 troops pledged for deployment in EU or NATO rapid - response missions . The nucleus of the force is the Franco - German Brigade established in 1987 . Organization . The Eurocorps is designed to " serve as a model for closer military cooperation in general between EU member - states . " The Eurocorps is not subordinate to any other military organization . It is deployed on the authority of the Common Committee representing the framework nations Chief of Defense and Political Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs . This committee considers requests for support from multinational organizations such as the UN , NATO , OSCE or EU . The Corps can also be deployed at the behest of the framework nations . In 2008 and 2009 the European Parliament voted with a large resolution proposing that Eurocorps should become the standing army of the EU , under EU command . Headquarters . The Eurocorps headquarters is based in Strasbourg near the Franco - German border , the seat of several European institutions . The headquarters contains the following units : German and French are the official languages at the Eurocorps . English is the operational language . Subordinate units . The five framework countries have earmarked the following units to the Eurocorps : Except for the Franco - German Brigade and the staff of the Multinational Command Support Brigade ( MNCS Bde ) that are permanently under operational command of HQ Eurocorps , the national contributions remain under national command in peacetime . They become fully subordinated after Transfer of Authority has been decided by member states . The size and type of Eurocorps units required in operations will depend on the nature and scope of assigned missions , likely employment , and the expected operational outcome . In the case that all earmarked national contributions are committed , the corps would number approximately 60 , 000 . Deployments . The Eurocorps participated in peacekeeping missions in Bosnia and led KFOR III in Kosovo from 18 April 2000 to October 2000 and led the ISAF6 Force in Afghanistan from 9 August 2004 to 11 February 2005 . From 1 July 2006 , to 10 January 2007 , HQ Eurocorps was the land component stand by element of the NATO Response Force 7 . From 1 July 2010 to 10 January 2011 , HQ Eurocorps was the land component stand by element of the NATO Response Force 15 ( NRF 15 ) . Currently ( since 2012 ) HQ Eurocorps has a deployment to ISAF in Afghanistan . Participating countries . Framework nations : Other contributors : Non - EU contributor :