currently does not participate in any Battlegroup. Participating EU NATO member states Participating EU non-NATO member states Participating non-EU NATO member states Participating non-EU non-NATO member states Non-participating EU member states Standby roster From 1 January 2005 the Battlegroups reached initial operational capacity: at least one Battlegroup was on standby every 6 months. The United Kingdom and France each had an operational Battlegroup for the first half of 2005, and Italy for the second half. In the first half of 2006, a Franco-German Battlegroup operated, and the Spanish–Italian Amphibious Battlegroup. In the second half of that year just one Battlegroup operated composed of France, Germany and Belgium. Full operational capacity was reached on 1 January 2007, meaning the Union could undertake two Battlegroup sized operations concurrently, or deploy them simultaneously into the same field. The Battlegroups rotate every 6 months, the roster from 2007 onwards is as follows; There are plans to extend the concept to air and naval forces, although not to the extent of having a single standing force on standby, but scattered forces which could be rapidly assembled. Recurring formations Nordic Battlegroup Balkan Battlegroup Visegrád Battlegroup Multinational Land Force Spanish–Italian Amphibious Battlegroup Niche capabilities The following Member States have also offered niche capabilities in support of the EU Battlegroups: Cyprus (medical group) Lithuania (a water purification unit) Greece (the Athens Sealift Co-ordination Centre) France (structure of a multinational and deployable Force Headquarters) Further details on specific contributions Sweden and Finland announced the creation of a joint Nordic Battlegroup. To make up the required 1500 number, they also urged Norway to contribute to the Battlegroup despite that country not being part of the EU. Recently, the number has been raised to 2400 troops with Sweden providing 2000 of these. According to Swedish newspapers the price for the 6 months in 2008 was 1.2 billion Swedish kronor (app. 150,000,000 euros) and the Battlegroup was not used. Finland is expected to commit troops trained to combat chemical and biological weapons, among other units such as a mortar company. Lithuania is expected to offer experts in water purification. Greece is pledging troops with maritime transport skills. Ireland has offered bomb disposal experts among its contribution. The Battlegroups project is not to be confused with the projected Helsinki Headline Goal force, which concerns up to 60,000 soldiers, deployable for at least a year, and take one to two months to deploy. The