Brussels, 19/12/2002 (Agence Europe) - The Atlantic Alliance was a little taken by surprise at the European Union's unexpected announcement, made at the European Council of Copenhagen, of the Union's readiness to take over from NATO at the head of the Stabilisation Force in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the (SFOR).
A senior NATO official said on Wednesday that the declaration came "rather suddenly", that previously it had been "only in the wind", and that the suggestion was only made "officially" on Friday. "The EU has not consulted NATO, SFOR or the Bosnians", but has gone on to make its declaration of intent, the official confirmed. "The formal proposal just happened in the last few days, and must now be looked at", the same source said, warning that the task of SFOR is a complex one. "We must be careful on the details", he said, but this warning "should not be interpreted as meaning NATO is unwilling or against it in principle". "It is a new idea, which does not mean it is a bad idea", he stated, adding: "a degree of reserve is appropriate: let's see if it works, let's see what the Bosnian government thinks".
On the subject of a date for possible takeover from NATO in Bosnia-Herzegovina, it is considered at NATO that the task is far more complex than that envisaged in Macedonia. It is "a newer, bigger challenge" and is therefore "difficult to set a date", it is said.
We would recall, however, that the United States, which makes 1 750 troops available for SFOR out of the 15 000 making up the force, has long been keen for Europe to take on a major role in this operation, in order to allow US troops to focus on other tasks.
Furthermore, as far as the possible takeover of the command of the "Allied Harmony" mission in Macedonia by the European Union is concerned, it is confirmed at NATO that this could be in spring 2003.
"In practical terms, we are thinking of early spring", but no decision on this has yet been taken, one official said. He recalled that the concrete arrangements for implementation of the EU-NATO partnership agreement, the "Berlin Plus" agreement, must be developed and adopted by 1 March 2003, which also coincides with review of the "Allied Harmony" operation scheduled for February. After these two dates, the EU take-over from NATO in Macedonia would be possible.