Operation Althea

New emblem adopted in March 2017

Operation Althea, formally European Union Force (EUFOR) Bosnia and Herzegovina, is a military deployment in Bosnia and Herzegovina to oversee the military implementation of the Dayton Agreement. 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.[1] It replaced SFOR on 2 December 2004.

General aspects

Civilian implementation of the Dayton Agreement is enforced by the Office of High Representative. EUFOR has 600 troops from 22 countries,[2] mostly from the countries of the European Union. There are however, additional troops from other countries such as Chile and Turkey.

EUFOR's commander is currently Major General Anton Waldner (Austria), since March 2017. 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.

The EUFOR assumed all the missions of the SFOR, except for the hunt for individuals indicted by the war criminals tribunal, notably Radovan Karadžić, former leader of Republika Srpska, and Ratko Mladić, their former military leader, which remained a mission for NATO[1] through NATO Headquarters Sarajevo.[3] The EUFOR does have police duties against organised crime, which is believed to be linked to suspected war criminals.[4] 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 September 2012, the total force of EUFOR are at 900 troops from 19 nations. The Troop-Contributing Nations (TCNS) are as follows: from the EU: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the UK; and partner nations from outside the EU: Australia, Albania, Chile, Macedonia, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Turkey.[5]

Commanders

No. Nation Rank Name Period
1  United Kingdom Major General David Leakey 02.12.2004 – 06.12.2005
2  Italy Major General Gian Marco Chiarini 06.12.2005 – 05.12.2006
3  Germany Rear Admiral Hans-Jochen Witthauer 05.12.2006 – 04.12.2007
4  Spain Major General Ignacio Martín Villalaín[6] 04.12.2007 – 04.12.2008
5  Italy Major General Stefano Castagnotto 04.12.2008 – 03.12.2009
6  Austria Major General Bernhard Bair 04.12.2009 – 06.12.2011
7  Austria Major General Robert Brieger 06.12.2011 – 03.12.2012
8  Austria Major General Dieter Heidecker 03.12.2012 – 17.12.2014
9  Austria Major General Johann Luif 17.12.2014 – 24.03.2016
10  Austria Major General Friedrich Schrötter 24.03.2016 – 28.03.2017
11  Austria Major General Anton Waldner 28.03.2017 – present

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "EU troops prepare for Bosnia swap". BBC. 23 October 2004.
  2. ↑ EUFOR Troop Strength (1 November 2007)
  3. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-11-23. Retrieved 2007-12-05.
  4. ↑ Evans, Michael (29 November 2004). "EU force to take on pimps, drug barons and smugglers". The Times. Retrieved 13 January 2007.
  5. ↑ "EUFOR Fact Sheet - Countries of EUFOR". EUFOR. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
  6. ↑ EUFOR change of command ceremony

Further reading

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