Operation Althea, formally the European Union Force Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUFOR), is a military deployment in Bosnia and Herzegovina to oversee the military implementation of the Dayton Agreement.[1] It is the successor to NATO's SFOR and IFOR. The transition from SFOR to EUFOR was largely a change of name and commanders: 80% of the troops remained in place.[2] It replaced SFOR on 2 December 2004.
| European Union Force Bosnia and Herzegovina | |
|---|---|
 New emblem adopted in March 2017 | |
| Also known as | EUFOR, Operation Althea |
| Military leader |  Major General László Sticz |
| Political leader |  European Union |
| Dates of operation | 2 December 2004 – present |
| Allegiance | European Union |
| Motives | Successful implementation of the Dayton Agreement |
| Size | 1100 members |
| Battles and wars | the Dayton Agreement |
| Colours | Blue, white, and yellow |
General aspects edit
Civilian implementation of the Dayton Agreement is enforced by the Office of the High Representative.
EUFOR's commander is Major General László Sticz[3] of Hungary. For this mission, the European Union Military Staff is using NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) as the EU's Operational Headquarters (OHQ) and is working through the Deputy to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, a European officer.
EUFOR assumed all the missions of SFOR, except for the hunt for individuals indicted by the war crimes tribunal, notably Radovan Karadžić, former leader of Republika Srpska, and Ratko Mladić, their former military leader, which remained a mission for NATO[2] through NATO Headquarters Sarajevo.[4] EUFOR does have police duties against organised crime, which is believed to be linked to suspected war criminals.[5] It worked with the European Union Police Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUPM) and with the Bosnian Police. The European Union Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina provides political guidance on military issues with a local political dimension to the EUFOR.
As of February 2023[update], the total force of EUFOR is approximately 1,000 troops from 22 countries, including EU member states and non-EU "Troop Contributing Countries" (TCC) are present within EUFOR (Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Chile, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, North Macedonia, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, and Turkey).[6]
On 18 December 2020, the United Kingdom marked the end of its 16-year contribution to EUFOR, following Brexit.[7]
As of early 2021, EUFOR personnel bases include:
- Multinational Battalion is EUFOR's military maneuver unit for BiH, located at Camp Butmir, Sarajevo, and comprises troops from Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Turkey.
- 19 LOT Houses located throughout BiH to connect EUFOR to local communities and authorities. Houses are located in Cazin, Banja Luka (Romania) and Banja Luka (Chile), Brčko, Doboj, Tuzla, Zavidovići, Travnik, Bratunac, Zenica, Vlasenica, Sarajevo, Livno, Jablanica, Višegrad, Foča, Mostar, Čapljina and Trebinje.[8]
Commanders edit
| No. | State | Rank | Name | Tenure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  United Kingdom
|
Major general | David Leakey | 2 December 2004 – 6 December 2005 |
| 2 |  Italy
|
Major general | Gian Marco Chiarini | 6 December 2005 – 5 December 2006 |
| 3 |  Germany
|
Rear admiral | Hans-Jochen Witthauer | 5 December 2006 – 4 December 2007 |
| 4 |  Spain
|
Major general | Ignacio Martín Villalaín[9] | 4 December 2007 – 4 December 2008 |
| 5 | Italy
|
Major general | Stefano Castagnotto | 4 December 2008 – 3 December 2009 |
| 6 |  Austria
|
Major general | Bernhard Bair | 4 December 2009 – 6 December 2011 |
| 7 | Austria
|
Major general | Robert Brieger | 6 December 2011 – 3 December 2012 |
| 8 | Austria
|
Major general | Dieter Heidecker | 3 December 2012 – 17 December 2014 |
| 9 | Austria
|
Major general | Johann Luif | 17 December 2014 – 24 March 2016 |
| 10 | Austria
|
Major general | Friedrich Schrötter | 24 March 2016 – 28 March 2017 |
| 11 | Austria
|
Major general | Anton Waldner | 28 March 2017 – 28 March 2018 |
| 12 | Austria
|
Major general | Martin Dorfer | 28 March 2018 – 26 June 2019 |
| 13 | Austria
|
Major general | Reinhard Trischak | 26 June 2019 – 14 January 2021 |
| 14 | Austria
|
Major general | Alexander Platzer | 14 January 2021 – 20 January 2022 |
| 15 | Austria
|
Major general | Anton Wessely | 20 January 2022 – 18 January 2023 |
| 16 | Austria
|
Major general | Helmut Habermayer | 18 January 2023 – 22 January 2024 |
| 17 | Hungary
|
Major general | László Sticz | 22 January 2024 – present |
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Reuters[dead link]
- ^ a b "EU troops prepare for Bosnia swap". BBC. 23 October 2004.
- ^ "European Union Force in BiH - Major General László Sticz takes command of EUFOR Operation Althea". www.euforbih.org. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
- ^ "Allied Joint Force Command Naples". Archived from the original on 2007-11-23. Retrieved 2007-12-05.
- ^ Evans, Michael (29 November 2004). "EU force to take on pimps, drug barons and smugglers". The Times. Retrieved 13 January 2007.
- ^ "EUFOR Fact Sheet – Countries of EUFOR". EUFOR. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
- ^ "European Union Force in BiH – United Kingdom ends contribution to EU Mission". www.euforbih.org. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
- ^ Accessed 29 April 2021 http://www.euforbih.org/index.php/eufor-elements/eufor-houses
- ^ "EUFOR change of command ceremony". Archived from the original on 2017-09-28. Retrieved 2007-12-05.
Further reading edit
- Le Monde (in French)
- http://eeas.europa.eu/archives/csdp/missions-and-operations/althea-bih/pdf/factsheet_eufor_althea_en.pdf
- Dominik Tolksdorf The Difficulties of the European Union in Supporting the Europeanization of Bosnia and Herzegovina[permanent dead link] EU Frontier Policy Paper, Budapest: Center for EU Enlargement Studies – Central European University, 2011
External links edit
- Official EUFOR website
- The Council of the European Union's page on EUFOR-Althea Archived 2017-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
- The European Union Special Representative (EUSR) for Bosnia and Herzegovina
- the European Commission's Delegation to Bosnia & Herzegovina
- Swiss Military Department EUFOR page (in French)