FDC France 2001 "Franco-German Brigade BPM 519 - Defense Council Mitterrand - Kohl" (1944 Landings postage NoBFA01-2T1)

The Franco-German Brigade, a component of Eurocorps: Serving Europe

The creation of Eurocorps can be considered the culmination of the Élysée Treaty, signed on January 22, 1963, by French President General de Gaulle and German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer. With this Treaty, whose aim was to strengthen relations between France and Germany, the two countries committed to collaborating in the field of defense. Beyond closer political ties, the two countries planned to exchange personnel between their respective armed forces and to cooperate in the defense and industrial sectors.

In 1988, President Mitterrand and Chancellor Kohl decided to intensify military cooperation between France and Germany. They announced the establishment of the Franco-German Security and Defense Council, which led to the creation in 1989 of the Franco-German Brigade, operational since 1991.

On October 14, 1991, the two Heads of State informed the President of the European Council, in a joint letter, of their intention to strengthen this military collaboration. They thus laid the foundations for a European corps in which other members of the Western European Union could participate.

It was at the La Rochelle Summit on May 22, 1992, that the official decision to create Eurocorps was made by François Mitterrand and Helmut Kohl with the adoption of the joint report of the French and German Ministers of Defense. A few weeks later, in July, a provisional headquarters was established in Strasbourg to set up the Eurocorps headquarters. (Source: Eurocorps - Strasbourg)

The French Joint Post Office BPI 416 in Müllheim, Germany, issued its final illustrated postmark on June 25 and 26, 2009, before the restructuring of the joint postal services.