Most European Union states support a gradual withdrawal and role change for the bloc's military mission in Bosnia, the French defence minister said today.
The European Union has a force of about 2,200 troops in Bosnia known as Eufor Althea. The peacekeepers deployed in 2004, taking over from a NATO force. Last November, the UN Security Council passed a resolution authorising the force for another year.
"One or two countries back the maintenance of the forces (but) generally the idea taking shape is for the gradual end of the ALTHEA mission and the transformation of this mission," French defence minister Herve Morin said after discussions among the 27 EU defence ministers in Deauville, France.
EU officials say the countries that favour keeping the mission unchanged are Slovakia Italy and Greece.
Morin said most military operations had been completed, but there was still a need for military advisers and trainers.
He said the commander of the force, British General John McColl, would report back with recommendations to EU ministers on November 10th.
French officials said there was a consensus to seek proposals to replace the current mission with one more civilian in nature. They said one scenario could be the provision of a rapid reaction force able to intervene in the event of a deterioration of the situation.
Last year the European Union cut the number of troops in the force, known as EUFOR, from more than 6,000 to around 2,200.
The peace accord that ended the 1992-95 Bosnian war divided Bosnia into two autonomous parts, the Serb Republic and the Muslim-Croat Federation.
Reuters