Brussels, 07/12/2006 (Agence Europe) - EU troops deployed in Bosnia-Herzegovina will be scaled down from 6,500 to around 2,500 in spring 2007. During Monday's General Affairs Council, EU foreign ministers are expected to take the decision to endorse the principle of troop reduction in Bosnia. Specific details of troop reduction should normally be published once the official decision for redeployment is taken in February.
According to an official military source, a 600-strong infantry battalion is to form the main intervention force in theatre. The battalion will be composed of four companies. The other troops will be divided up between: - the EUFOR military staff based in Sarajevo (650), the liaison and observation team spread out over the whole territory (400), national support (400), integrated police units (200), intelligence units (100), units tasked with connection and transmission, and helicopter maintenance teams.
During the redeployment phase, two battalions will remain on standby in their respective countries. After redeployment, a six-month so-called “reversibility” phase will open during which the two battalions on standby may be deployed again on the ground. Two other reserve battalions, which are currently used for support in Kosovo, may also be called upon to come in as reinforcements, mainly for crisis response. The two KFOR battalions under NATO command are made available to the EU when needed on the basis of an agreement reached by the two organisations. “In the event of problems arising, the EUFOR command may benefit from the same capabilities as it does at present. The presence of troops will be more discreet but will nonetheless leave a large margin of manoeuvre”, a military source states.
After this, there will be the phase when infrastructures will be dismantled with a view to pulling out of the country definitively in 2008. (bc)