After the Political Agreement of the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in the EU and the UN Resolution 2134, on 10th February 2014 the Council of the European Union decided to launch a military mission in the Central African Republic (EUFOR RCA) for the achievement of a safe and secure environment in the area of Bangui, for the successive handover to the African Union. The mission integrated the efforts of the French military mission, called "Sangaris", and the military mission of the African Union "MISCA" (International Mission of Soutien in Central Africa, with African leadership).
The Operational Headquarters (OHQ) of EUFOR RCA was located in Larissa (Greece), while the Force Headquarters (FHQ) was in the capital Bangui. France took on the leadership of the operation and Italy contributed with an engineer platoon, with support capability to manoeuvre, and staff in the OHQ of Larissa and the FHQ of Bangui.