At the session on Friday, the United Nations Security Council confirmed the decision to extend the mandate of the EUFOR/Althea mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina for an additional year.
Just like in previous years, the extension of the mission was adopted with 15 “yes” votes.
The vote itself was not preceded by a major discussion, and the representative of France welcomed the adoption of the resolution extending EUFOR’s mandate.
“France is fully involved and we are fighting against destabilization in relation to the current provocation and destabilization process. We welcome the adoption of the Resolution that renews the mandate of EUFOR. We also support the mandate of the High Representative. We express solidarity with the population even after the heavy floods that hit the country,” the representatives of France stated.
The mandate for EUFOR’s operation Althea consists of two parts, executive and non-executive. The executive mandate is given by the UN Security Council, and EUFOR’s mission is then based on the joint action of the EU Council for Foreign Affairs (FAC), which includes the executive part arising from the UN Security Council (Support to BiH authorities in maintaining a secure environment). It also includes a non-executive part (Support to collective and combined training of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina).
United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1551, adopted unanimously on July 9, 2004, welcomed the EU’s intention to launch a military mission in BiH. The EU’s decision to launch ALTHEA followed NATO’s decision to end the previous SFOR operation.