Chief of Staff to participate in FINABEL meeting

National Guard Chief of Staff Lieutenant General
Constantinos Bisbikas will be participating in the annual meeting of
FINABEL chiefs of staff, which will be held in Luxembourg on April 9
and 10, during which the accession of Cyprus to the organisation will
be made official.

According to the Cypriot Ministry of Defence,
FINABEL was established in 1953 with an aim to maintain contact between
European armies on a chief of staff level.

Initially, France,
Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg were members, followed
by the accession of Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Greece,
Portugal, Poland and Slovakia.

FINABEL got its name from the six
initial members, namely France (F), Italy (I), the Netherlands (N), the
Federal Republic of Germany (A), Belgium (BE) and Luxembourg (L).

The
organisation’s main purpose is to improve the interoperability of land
capabilities, to train European armies, and review doctrines and
procedures.

FINABEL is managed by a chief of staff committee, which convenes once a year, in one of the member states on rotation.