EUFOR Tchad / RCA European Union Force Chad / CAR , also EUFOR Tchad / RCA after the French , was the European Union mission in Chad and the Central African Republic ( CAR ) , authorised in late 2007 . EUFOR Chad / CAR was authorised under the same United Nations Security Council resolution that mandated MINURCAT , a UN force tasked with training police and improving judicial infrastructure . The European Union Force ' s mandate included " to take all necessary measures , within its capabilities and its area of operation in eastern Chad and the north - eastern Central African Republic " to protect civilians , facilitate delivery of humanitarian aid and ensure the safety of UN personnel . The military operation was approved by the Council of the European Union on 15 October 2007 . The EU operation commander was Lieutenant General Patrick Nash of the Irish Defence Forces . The force was announced to be 4 , 300 troops strong . Out of these , 3 , 700 troops were deployed in the area of operations , and a strategic reserve of 600 troops was stationed in Europe . The mission started to deploy in February 2008 , reaching its Initial Operational Capability on 15 March 2008 . On 15 March 2009 , a UN force took over under the MINURCAT mandate . Contributors . The operation headquarters was located in Mont Velérien , France , in a completely dedicated structure . The Force Headquarters was in N ' Djamena and Abéché with forward bases in Goz Beïda ( South ) , Farchana ( Centre ) , Iriba ( North ) and a smaller one in Birao ( CAR ) ( See map ) . The multinational EU force commander was Irish Lieutenant General Patrick Nash . At its full operational capability , the force was 3 , 700 strong . France , the largest component of the EUFOR Tchad / RCA , provided a battalion of 2 , 000 soldiers and 500 support units . Other large contingents were the Irish and Polish - 450 and 400 strong , respectively . In addition to 14 European Union member states in the field , 19 in theatre and 22 at the operation headquarters ( 23 in total ) , three third countries took part in the mission : Albania , Croatia , and Russia . Neither Germany nor the United Kingdom deployed any troops on the ground , highlighting limited consensus on the mission among the big three member states despite the unanimous adoption and implementation of the Joint Action by the Council of the European Union . Denmark does not participate on the Common Security and Defence Policy and therefore did not take part in planning , financing and implementation of this mission . Contributors include ( with number of troops committed ) : Deployment . The mission dealt with logistical difficulties from the beginning . Originally scheduled to be launched in November 2007 , the mission was delayed by the lack of equipment and money and the preparations continued only after the French promised another 500 support units and 10 helicopters . Chad and the CAR are landlocked countries and the area of operation was on their eastern border ( some 2 , 400 kilometres from the Atlantic coastline , of which only could be crossed by rail ) . This required the use of harbours and territory of Cameroon and airlifting the rest to N ' Djamena as the Abéché airport in the theatre was not considered safe . Major technical support , especially the transportation of daily needs of the troops ( such as food and water ) , were provided by the permanent French mission to Chad . Deployment was not made any easier by limited infrastructure , the vastness of the area of operations , the inability of the government of Chad to provide basic supplies for the mission and the severe climate . The logistical problems were highlighted by the fact that full operational capability ( FOC ) could not be declared until 15 September 2008 , a full six months after the declaration of the initial operational capability and half way through the mission . It was originally expected to be achieved by May . The mission also continued to struggle over airlift capabilities , partially settling the matter only in December with the deployment of Russian helicopters . Apart from the logistical challenges , the mission also faced problems of its impartiality and distinction from other troops and staff on the ground , especially in Chad . There was a concern about sufficiently differentiating the regular French soldiers who serve in Chad under the bilateral defence agreement between the two countries , the MINURCAT personnel and the EUFOR troops ( the majority of whom where also French ) . Also , explaining the different roles of those forces to the local population and briefing of the troops on the complexities of the region was a major task . Rebel groups even threatened to attack any foreign force which they do not see as neutral , a threat clearly directed against France ' s dual role in Chad . This reiterated fears that the mission might be seen as a protection of the N ' djamena regime . But the president of Chad , Idriss Déby , also accused EUFOR of collaboration with the rebels after the brief outbreak of violence around Goz Beida in June 2008 . The accusation arose mostly from the narrowness of the mandate – criticised by both humanitarian workers and the Chadian government – which was not designed to interfere in the internal affairs of Chad ( or to significantly improve security and development in the area ) . Paradoxically , Déby ' s critique after the June incidents strengthened the perceived neutrality of the mission . Costs . The operation came slightly under budget at €119 . 6 million ( comparing to the planned €120 million , but originally envisioned at €99 . 2 million ) . This , however , was only for the common costs of the operation ( mostly construction and operation of the camps ) , financed through the EU mechanism for financing military operations ( Athena ) . The real costs are estimated to be between €400 and €500 million . In addition to these common costs of the EU member states associated with the mission , the EU donated €10 million to MINURCAT to finance its programme to train , equip and support the deployment of Chadian police . The 10th European Development Fund also allocated almost €300 million and €137 million to Chad and the CAR , respectively , for the period 2008 – 2013 .