The European Union is willing to continue keeping its armed forces in Bosnia under a renewed UN mandate, the head of the EU Delegation to the United Nations, Joao Vale de Almeida, told the UN Security Council on Wednesday.

Vale de Almeida said that the EU continues to support the presence of its troops in Bosnia, nicknamed Operation Althea, which has “re-focused on its core mandate, while retaining the elements of capacity-building and training deemed to be still necessary.”

The EU forces, referred to as EUFOR, are ready to continue to “support Bosnia and Herzegovina’s authorities to maintain the safe and secure environment, under a renewed UN mandate,” Vale de Almeida added.

EUFOR’s mandate is being renewed every year by the Security Council. The mission succeeded NATO’s IFOR and SFOR troops who had been deployed in Bosnia since the end of 1995 to help end the Bosnian war.

Over the years, the number of foreign soldiers on the ground shrunk, from the initial 60,000 to only several hundred soldiers.

“The European Union is committed to Bosnia and Herzegovina becoming a member of it, as a single, united and sovereign country,” Vale de Almeida said at the UN Security Council Debate on the state of affairs in Bosnia.

The EU expects “all leaders to engage constructively in government formation at all levels” following the October 7 election, he added.

The European Union “expects the Bosnia and Herzegovina authorities to prioritise taking forward the reforms needed to advance on its EU path,” he said.

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