The European Personnel Recovery Centre (EPRC) is an intergovernmental military organisation that contributes to the development and harmonisation of policies and standards related to

personnel recovery The United States Armed Forces, in Joint Publication 3-50 Personnel Recovery, defines personnel recovery as "the sum of military, diplomatic, and civil efforts to prepare for and execute the recovery and reintegration of isolated personnel." The ...

. The ERPC also provides support for education, training, exercises and operations. The EPRC was established on 8 July 2015 and is based at

Poggio Renatico Poggio Renatico ( Poggese: ; Ferrarese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Ferrara in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northeast of Bologna and about southwest of Ferrara. Poggio Renatico borders on the follow ...

Air Base in Italy.

Member states

The centre has seven participating states: *

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

The EPRC is not associated with the European Union

Common Security and Defence Policy The Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) is the European Union's (EU) course of action in the fields of defence and crisis management, and a main component of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). The CSDP involves the deplo ...

, CSDP); it is for instance not a

project A project is any undertaking, carried out individually or collaboratively and possibly involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular goal. An alternative view sees a project managerially as a sequence of even ...

of the

Permanent Structured Cooperation The Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) is the part of the European Union's (EU) security and defence policy (CSDP) in which 25 of the 27 national armed forces pursue structural integration (the exceptions being Denmark and Malta). Based on ...

(PESCO) of the CSDP. The EPRC and its assets may however contribute in the implementation of the CSDP, when made available as a ''multinational force'' in accordance with article 42.3 of the

Treaty on European Union The Treaty on European Union (2007) is one of the primary Treaties of the European Union, alongside the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The TEU form the basis of EU law, by setting out general principles of the EU's pu ...

(TEU).

Structure

Leadership

The EPRC is presently led by: *Director: Major General Francisco GONZÁLEZ (

Spanish Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = Spanish Air and Space Force Anthem , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 December , equipment ...

) *Commander: Colonel Stefan DEMPS (

German Air Force The German Air Force (german: Luftwaffe, lit=air weapon or air arm, ) is the aerial warfare branch of the , the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the ''Bundeswehr'') was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War a ...

)

Components

The EPCR comprises the following components: *The Concept and Document Management division, which develops, reviews and maintains concepts, doctrine, directives and initiatives aimed to harmonise personnel recovery policy, doctrine and standards as directed by the EPRC Commander. *The Education and Training Area, which supports the development and conduct of courses and training events for commanders, staffs and recovery forces. *The Operations Advice and Assistance and Lessons Identified/Lessons Learned (OAA/LI/LL) Section, which supports the participating states and international organisations with joint personnel recovery expertise in support of exercises and operations. *The Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Extraction (SERE) Section, developing and promoting relevant forms of standardisation and providing a forum for participant states' SERE schools.

Relationship with EU defence policy

The EPRC is presently not established at the EU level (referred to as the