BERLIN, May 2 (UPI) -- The European Union's mission to safeguard elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo may be larger than previously expected, according to a new report.
German news magazine Der Spiegel reports in its latest issue that military planners in Brussels calculate a force of up to 3,000 soldiers, twice the previously announced number.
That would lift Germany's contribution to 900 soldiers, up from 400 to 500, the magazine said.
The United Nations, already on the ground with some 17,000 peacekeeping troops, requested the additional support as the situation may easily become unstable during and after the country's first free elections in 45 years, scheduled for late June.
The DRC, Africa's third-largest country, is roughly the size of Western Europe.
According to the EU, the mission will be spearheaded by Germany and France. Germany, as the lead nation, will establish an operating center in Potsdam. The French operate a command post in Kinshasa, capital of the DRC, according to the latest plans.
The EU will decide on the plan May 15; the German parliament is expected to vote on the mission near the end of the month, at the earliest.
German military officials had showed very little enthusiasm to take on a key role in the mission. Franz-Josef Jung, the country's defense minister, had said the German armed forces were overstretched, before siding with the mission after Chancellor Angela Merkel urged him to do so.
