Minister of Defence Zukan Helez, together with Deputy Minister of Defence of BiH for Policy and Planning Slaven Galić, received today a delegation from the European Parliament’s Committee on Defence and Security and requested the reinforcement of EUFOR forces in BiH.
Minister Helez and Deputy Minister Galić presented the key activities and priorities of the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces of BiH to the members of the delegation, highlighting the role and significance of Operation “Althea”.
“EUFOR has a very important role in BiH, articulated in Annexes 1A and 2 of the Dayton Peace Agreement, and remains a reliable guarantor of security in this area. Given the sensitivity of the geopolitical situation in the world, but also in our region, we believe that it would be good to strengthen EUFOR forces, especially in the important area of the Brčko District”, said Helez.
The SEDE Committee delegation is headed by Niclas Herbst from Germany, and its members include Helder Sousa Silva from Portugal, Marjan Šarec from Slovenia and Martinš Stakis from Latvia.
Both Helez and Galić expressed their gratitude for the financial support from the European Peace Facility (EPF), which in two tranches totaling $20 million has strengthened the demining capacities of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina with specialized vehicles and metal detectors. The need for further modernization of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina in terms of combat assets, especially anti-aircraft and anti-tank assets, was also emphasized.
