Operation Althea

Last updated
European Union Force Bosnia and Herzegovina
Also known asEUFOR, Operation Althea
Military leaderFlag of Hungary.svg Major General László Sticz
Political leaderFlag of Europe.svg  European Union
Dates of operation2 December 2004 (2004-12-02) – present
AllegianceFlag of Europe.svg  European Union
MotivesSuccessful implementation of the Dayton Agreement
Size1100 members
Battles and warsthe Dayton Agreement
ColoursBlue, white, and yellow
Preceded by
Flag of NATO.svg SFOR

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.

Contents

General aspects

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:

Contributing states

List of countries EUFOR Althea: [9]

CountryEUNATOStrength
Flag of Albania.svg  Albania [10] NoYes1
Flag of Austria.svg  Austria [11] YesNo221
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium YesYes1
Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria [12] YesYes10
Flag of Chile.svg  Chile [13] NoNo15
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic [14] YesYes2
Flag of France.svg  France [15] YesYes250
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany [16] YesYes50
Flag of Greece.svg  Greece [17] YesYes2
Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary [18] YesYes30
Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland [19] YesNo7
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy [20] YesYes4
Flag of North Macedonia.svg  North Macedonia [21] NoYes3
Flag of Poland.svg  Poland [22] YesYes39
Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal YesYes1
Flag of Romania.svg  Romania [23] YesYes39
Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden YesYes2
Flag of Slovakia.svg  Slovakia [24] YesYes40
Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia [25] YesYes9
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain [26] YesYes4
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland [27] NoNo26
Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey [28] NoYes150
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom [29] NoYes4
2316181,354

Commanders

No.StateRankNameTenure
1Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom Major general David Leakey 2 December 2004 – 6 December 2005
2Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Major generalGian Marco Chiarini6 December 2005 – 5 December 2006
3Flag of Germany.svg  Germany Rear admiral Hans-Jochen Witthauer5 December 2006 – 4 December 2007
4Flag of Spain.svg  Spain Major generalIgnacio Martín Villalaín [30] 4 December 2007 – 4 December 2008
5Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Major general Stefano Castagnotto 4 December 2008 – 3 December 2009
6Flag of Austria.svg  Austria Major generalBernhard Bair4 December 2009 – 6 December 2011
7Flag of Austria.svg  Austria Major generalRobert Brieger6 December 2011 – 3 December 2012
8Flag of Austria.svg  Austria Major generalDieter Heidecker3 December 2012 – 17 December 2014
9Flag of Austria.svg  Austria Major general Johann Luif 17 December 2014 – 24 March 2016
10Flag of Austria.svg  Austria Major generalFriedrich Schrötter24 March 2016 – 28 March 2017
11Flag of Austria.svg  Austria Major generalAnton Waldner28 March 2017 – 28 March 2018
12Flag of Austria.svg  Austria Major generalMartin Dorfer28 March 2018 – 26 June 2019
13Flag of Austria.svg  Austria Major generalReinhard Trischak26 June 2019 – 14 January 2021
14Flag of Austria.svg  Austria Major generalAlexander Platzer14 January 2021 – 20 January 2022
15Flag of Austria.svg  Austria Major generalAnton Wessely20 January 2022 – 18 January 2023
16Flag of Austria.svg  Austria Major generalHelmut Habermayer18 January 2023 – 22 January 2024
17Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary Major generalLászló Sticz22 January 2024 – present

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Reuters [ dead link ]
  2. 1 2 "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 . 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 2021-03-08.
  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, abgerufen am 28. September 2016
  11. ↑ Einsatzzahlen österreichischen Streitkräfte, abgerufen am 28. März 2018
  12. ↑ Einsatzzahlen bulgarische Streitkräfte, abgerufen am 14. März 2017
  13. ↑ Einsatzzahlen chilenische Streitkräfte, abgerufen am 28. September 2016
  14. ↑ Archived (Date missing) at mise.army.cz (Error: unknown archive URL), abgerufen am 28. September 2016
  15. ↑ https://www.euractiv.pl/section/bezpieczenstwo-i-obrona/news/po-nato-teraz-ue-zwiekszy-swoja-wojskowa-obecnosc-w-bosni-i-hercegowinie/
  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, abgerufen am 28. September 2016
  18. ↑ Einsatzzahlen ungarische Streitkräfte, abgerufen am 14. März 2017
  19. ↑ http://www.military.ie/overseas/ Einsatzzahlen irische Streitkräfte
  20. ↑ Einsatzzahlen italienische Streitkräfte, abgerufen am 28. September 2016
  21. ↑ 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
  22. ↑ Einsatzzahlen polnische Streitkräfte, abgerufen am 28. September 2016
  23. ↑ Archived (Date missing) at smg.mapn.ro (Error: unknown archive URL), abgerufen am 28. September 2016
  24. ↑ Einsatzzahlen slowakische Streitkräfte, abgerufen am 14. März 2017
  25. ↑ Einsatzzahlen slowenische Streitkräfte, abgerufen am 28. September 2016
  26. ↑ Einsatzzahlen spanische Streitkräfte, abgerufen am 14. März 2017
  27. ↑ Archived (Date missing) at vtg.admin.ch (Error: unknown archive URL), Swiss Peace Support, abgerufen am 28. September 2016
  28. ↑ Einsatzzahlen türkische Streitkräfte, abgerufen am 28. März 2018
  29. ↑ https://www.gov.uk/government/world/organisations/ministry-of-defence-sarajevo
  30. ↑ "EUFOR change of command ceremony". Archived from the original on 2017-09-28. Retrieved 2007-12-05.

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