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Operation Althea

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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
Also known asEUFOR, Operation Althea
Military leader Major General László Sticz
Political leader European Union
Dates of operation2 December 2004 (2004-12-02) – present
Allegiance European Union
MotivesSuccessful implementation of the Dayton Agreement
Size1100 members
Battles and warsthe Dayton Agreement
ColoursBlue, white, and yellow
Preceded by
SFOR

General aspects

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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, 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]

Contributing states

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List of countries EUFOR Althea:[9]

Country EU NATO Strength
  Albania[10] No Yes 1
  Austria[11] Yes No 221
  Belgium Yes Yes 1
  Bulgaria[12] Yes Yes 10
  Chile[13] No No 15
  Czech Republic[14] Yes Yes 2
  France[15] Yes Yes 250
  Germany[16] Yes Yes 50
  Greece[17] Yes Yes 2
  Hungary[18] Yes Yes 30
  Ireland[19] Yes No 7
  Italy[20] Yes Yes 4
  Netherlands[21][22] Yes Yes 160
  North Macedonia[23] No Yes 3
  Poland[24] Yes Yes 39
  Portugal Yes Yes 1
  Romania[25] Yes Yes 39
  Slovakia[26] Yes Yes 40
  Slovenia[27] Yes Yes 9
  Spain[28] Yes Yes 4
  Sweden Yes Yes 2
   Switzerland[29] No No 26
  Turkey[30] No Yes 150
22 16 17 1,510


Withdrawn
Country EU NATO Year of withdrawal
  Estonia Yes Yes 2012
  Finland Yes Yes 2018[31]
  Luxembourg Yes Yes 2013
  United Kingdom[32] No Yes 2020[33]

Commanders

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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[34] 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

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References

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  1. ^ Reuters[dead link‍]
  2. ^ a b "EU troops prepare for Bosnia swap". BBC. 23 October 2004.
  3. ^ "European Union Force in BiH - Major General László Sticz takes command of EUFOR Operation Althea". www.euforbih.org. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
  4. ^ "Allied Joint Force Command Naples". Archived from the original on 2007-11-23. Retrieved 2007-12-05.
  5. ^ Evans, Michael (29 November 2004). "EU force to take on pimps, drug barons and smugglers". The Times. Archived from the original on January 3, 2006. Retrieved 13 January 2007.
  6. ^ "EUFOR Fact Sheet – Countries of EUFOR". EUFOR. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
  7. ^ "European Union Force in BiH – United Kingdom ends contribution to EU Mission". www.euforbih.org. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
  8. ^ "European Union Force in BiH - EUFOR LOT Houses". euforbih.org. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  9. ^ "European Union Force in BiH - Mission Background". www.euforbih.org. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  10. ^ Einsatzzahlen albanische Streitkräfte Archived 2024-05-27 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 28 September 2016.
  11. ^ Einsatzzahlen österreichischen Streitkräfte, retrieved 28 March 2018.
  12. ^ Einsatzzahlen bulgarische Streitkräfte, retrieved 14 March 2017.
  13. ^ Einsatzzahlen chilenische Streitkräfte, retrieved 28 September 2016.
  14. ^ Einsatzzahlen tschechische Streitkräfte at the Wayback Machine (archived May 31, 2018), retrieved 28 September 2016.
  15. ^ Wolska, Anna (2024-04-12). "Po NATO teraz UE zwiększy swoją wojskową obecność w Bośni i Hercegowinie". www.euractiv.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2024-08-09.
  16. ^ "EUFOR Althea: Bundeswehr trägt weiter zu Frieden und Stabilität bei". www.bmvg.de (in German). 2024-05-11. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  17. ^ Einsatzzahlen griechische Streitkräfte, retrieved 28 September 2016.
  18. ^ Einsatzzahlen ungarische Streitkräfte, retrieved 14 March 2017.
  19. ^ "Overseas Deployments". www.military.ie. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
  20. ^ Einsatzzahlen italienische Streitkräfte, retrieved 28 September 2016.
  21. ^ "A look at the Defence news 2 – 8 October - News item - Defensie.nl". english.defensie.nl. 2023-10-11. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
  22. ^ "Netherlands to deploy 160 soldiers for peacekeeping mission in Bosnia". anews. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
  23. ^ http://www.euforbih.org/eufor/index.php/eufor-news/latest-news/2071-visit-to-eufor-by-minister-of-defence-of-former-yugoslav-republic-of-macedonia-fyrom Einsatzzahlen mazedonische Streitkräfte
  24. ^ Einsatzzahlen polnische Streitkräfte, retrieved 28 September 2016.
  25. ^ Einsatzzahlen rumänische Streitkräfte at the Wayback Machine (archived February 18, 2016), retrieved 28 September 2016.
  26. ^ Einsatzzahlen slowakische Streitkräfte, retrieved 14 March 2017.
  27. ^ Einsatzzahlen slowenische Streitkräfte, retrieved 28 September 2016.
  28. ^ Einsatzzahlen spanische Streitkräfte, retrieved 14 March 2017.
  29. ^ Einsatzzahlen Schweizer Streitkräfte at the Wayback Machine (archived September 27, 2016), Swiss Peace Support, retrieved 28 September 2016.
  30. ^ Einsatzzahlen türkische Streitkräfte, retrieved 28 March 2018.
  31. ^ "Finland discontinues its participation in the EUFOR ALTHEA operation". maavoimat.fi. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
  32. ^ "Ministry of Defence Sarajevo - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 2014-06-13.
  33. ^ "European Union Force in BiH – United Kingdom ends contribution to EU Mission". www.euforbih.org. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
  34. ^ "EUFOR change of command ceremony". Archived from the original on 2017-09-28. Retrieved 2007-12-05.

Further reading

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