Innsbruck, 07/03/2006 (Agence Europe) - During their informal meeting on 6 and 7 March in Innsbruck, Austria, EU defence ministers discussed the review, foreseen for June 2006, of the activities of EUFOR, the EU-led force in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Operation Althea was launched on 2 December 2004 to replace NATO's Stabilisation Force in Bosnia-Herzegovina (SFOR). During a press conference, in Innsbruck on Monday 6 March, Austrian Defence Minister Günther Platter confirmed that the EU could envisage a major scaling down of its forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina, depending on political developments in that country. Elections are to be held in October 2006 with a view to forming a new government. Mr Platter pointed out that the EU currently deploys 6,700 servicemen there but that it was quite conceivable that the number of EUFOR personnel would be reduced to around 6,000 “quite soon”, without this having a negative impact on the quality of the operation. “We would then have to consider whether, in the medium term, troops on the ground should not be scaled down to around 2,500”, Mr Platter added, specifying that the EU was studying several force reduction scenarios after the election period in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Mr Platter praised the results of Operation Althea, saying it has “given people a glimpse of hope for peace, stability and security”.
We recall that, end November 2005, the Council decided to maintain the number of EU troops deployed in the region at the current level in 2006, and also confirmed that EUFOR should carry out the same tasks for the next six months. The Council's conclusions state that, on the basis of sustained progress in the context of the stabilisation and association process, as well as the impact assessment of elections scheduled for 2006, the Council may envisage other possibilities for the future presence of EUFOR in Bosnia-Herzegovina.