Thursday

28th Mar 2024

EU peacekeepers face testing times in Bosnia

  • The joint EU force in Bosnia took over peacekeeping duties from Nato (Photo: consilium.eu)
Listen to article

Reservist soldiers in the EU's only peacekeeping mission, in Bosnia, are on "high readiness" in case of outbreaks of violence amid moves toward Serb secession.

"Against the backdrop of increasing war rhetoric, EUFOR Althea [the EU mission] assesses that there is no immediate danger to the safe and secure environment," an EU foreign service report seen by EUobserver on Tuesday (15 February) said. But "the potential for local outburst of violence cannot be underestimated," it added.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

EUFOR Althea has 600 soldiers in Bosnia, from some 20 European countries, under the command of an Austrian general, whose job is to protect implementation of the Dayton Accords - a 1995 deal which ended an ethnic conflict between Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks by creating the Bosnia and Herzegovina federation.

EUFOR Althea also has 3,500 reservists and, "in the event of a serious deterioration of the security situation, the operation would activate the reserve forces which are fully-manned and maintained at high readiness to deploy," the EU foreign service paper said.

It was "the main bulwark should the situation develop into a security crisis", the EU said.

The Bosnia tensions come amid French-led ambitions to create a joint EU rapid-reaction force by 2025 as part of European efforts to act with more autonomy on the world stage.

Europe's ability to keep the peace in the Western Balkans will "test the EU's role as a geopolitical actor," the EU foreign service noted.

EU foreign ministers are expected on Monday (21 February) to discuss risks that arose after Mirolad Dodik, the leader of Republika Srpska, the Serb entity in the Bosnian federation, recently tabled over 140 laws designed to withdraw from federal institutions this year.

The EU foreign service also proposed an EU "asset freeze/travel ban" on Dodik or his associates as a "last resort measure" if he went ahead with the laws, and asked for ministers' "guidance" on its ideas.

But Hungary continued to oppose sanctions at a lower-level EU meeting on Monday (14 February), diplomatic sources told EUobserver. The Hungarian foreign ministry did not reply to questions.

The EU has 18 military and civilian missions in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. But EUFOR Althea is unusual because it has a UN Security Council executive mandate.

That means it can use force for "self-protection" or "to maintain or as needed restore the so-called safe and secure environment" in Bosnia under Chapter VII of the UN charter, the EU foreign service said.

Bosnia is currently benefiting from a €394.5m EU funding and €1.1bn investment package. But its "dysfunctionality" meant "there is a clearly increasing emigration trend" to EU states, which had been issuing some 60,000 residence permits a year to Bosnians in recent times, the EU foreign service said.

"Corruption is flourishing" and "trust among ruling political leaders has almost entirely broken down", the EU report warned. There was also an upsurge in "historical revisionism, including genocide denial and glorification of war criminals," it said.

MEPs seek probe into EU commissioner over Bosnia

Enlargement commissioner Várhelyi "openly colluded [with Dodik] in potentially breaking up Bosnia and Herzegovina", according to dozens of MEPs who wrote to Várhelyi's boss.

Interview

North Macedonia FM: Bosnia will not 'turn into war'

North Macedonia's minister of foreign affairs Bujar Osmani says Nato's presence - and regional maturity - means conflict remains unlikely in the event of Bosnia and Herzegovina's possible break-up.

Stakeholder

EU, wake up! Don't leave West Balkans to Russia or China

Russia's attack on Ukraine and European values must remind us how important the enlargement process is, if properly conducted, as a motor for democracy, freedom, peace, the rule of law and prosperity, write six S&D MEPs.

A chorus of warnings about Russian meddling in Bosnia

In a thinly veiled warning to Russia, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell pledged to "continue deterring those who would feel emboldened to undertake destabilisation actions" during a trip to Sarajevo.

Opinion

Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Rather than assuming a pro-European Labour government in London will automatically open doors in Brussels, the Labour party needs to consider what it may be able to offer to incentivise EU leaders to factor the UK into their defence thinking.

Latest News

  1. "Swiftly dial back" interest rates, ECB told
  2. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  3. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult
  4. EU unveils plan to create a European cross-border degree
  5. How migrants risk becoming drug addicts along Balkan route
  6. 2024: A Space Odyssey — why the galaxy needs regulating
  7. Syrian mayor in Germany speaks out against AfD
  8. Asian workers pay price for EU ship recycling

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us