EU force takes over in Bosnia

A European Union force yesterday took over peacekeeping in Bosnia from Nato for an operation seen as a test of the EU's military aspirations and credibility. Although Malta has not sent any soldiers to join the EU's new peacekeeping mission, it will be contributing financially.

A spokesman for Malta's Permanent Representation in Brussels told The Times that for 2005, Malta will be contributing €28,231 or 0.03 per cent of the total reference common cost of the operation.

The operation's budget for any subsequent years still needs to be worked out and Malta's contribution will be according to its share of the Union's Gross National Income (GNI). Malta's current share of the EU's GNI is 0.03 per cent.

The new 7,000 soldiers force, called EUFOR, steps into the shoes of Nato's departing Stabilisation Force (SFOR). Nine years after the end of the war which cost 200,000 lives, hostilities have cooled.

Eighty per cent of soldiers in the new force are there already under SFOR command. They simply swapped insignia on their caps, uniforms and vehicles to EUFOR.

The handover was marked by Nato, EU and Bosnian officials at a ceremony at Camp Butmir just outside Sarajevo. A British military brass band in red uniforms and fur hats lined up with a Bosnian honour guard and SFOR soldiers from 28 countries as the SFOR's flag was folded and the EU's bright-blue one raised.

EUFOR's troops come from 22 EU member states and 11 other countries, including Canada, Chile and Morocco.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said its deployment proved the EU's commitment to helping Bosnia achieve its goals of democracy and stabilisation, and its future in Europe.

British General David Leakey, who will head the EU's biggest military operation so far, says EUFOR will continue the SFOR mandate to provide a "safe and secure" environment and assist in the fight against organised crime.

The EU hopes to trim the force along the way if the situation permits, and to wind it up in three years.