The German government is not giving up on its intention to send German soldiers to BiH as part of the EUFOR Altea mission, and as “Nezavisne novine” has learned, a concrete decision will soon be made in the Bundestag approving the engagement.
Concrete decisions
Avaz also learn that another debate will be held on BiH, and concrete decisions are possible after the attempt to make a decision on sanctions at the level of the European Council failed, because Hungary opposed it.
The Bundeswehr have no information about their possible future engagement and point out that it is a political decision. They only state the data on their engagement so far and point out that the Bundeswehr in BiH had a positive contribution and that this is the longest military mission in the history of the German Army.
They point out that as many as 63,000 German soldiers were engaged in various missions in BiH and Croatia. They also state that the stabilization of the situation in BiH from 2004 to 2011 enabled the reduction of the German presence, when the number of soldiers from 6,500 was gradually reduced to only 15.
Crisis point
“On November 16, 2012, German participation in the EUFOR Altea operation ended. The last German soldiers ended their engagement on September 27, 2012, and on November 16, the German share in the reserve battalion ended,” they emphasize.
Aleksandar Radic, a military analyst from Belgrade, is convinced that EUFOR will be strengthened, because after the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis, the United States is determined to strengthen the West’s military presence in the Western Balkans, and thus in BiH.
“It is clear that they care that they now have a stronger and more pronounced presence in BiH than in Kosmet. That speaks to their discourse. They see BiH as a potential point of crisis,” Radic says for “Nezavisne novine”
