Operation Althea, formally the European Union Force Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUFOR), is a military deployment in Bosnia and Herzegovina to oversee the military implementation of the Dayton Agreement. It is the successor to NATO's SFOR and IFOR. The transition from SFOR to EUFOR was largely a change of name and commanders: 80% of the troops remained in place. It replaced SFOR on 2 December 2004.
General aspects
Civilian implementation of the Dayton Agreement is enforced by the Office of the High Representative.
As of January 2026, EUFOR's commander is Major General Maurizio Fronda of Italy. For this mission, the European Union Military Staff is using NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) as the EU's Operational Headquarters (OHQ) and is working through the Vice Chief of Staff (previously Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe), a European officer.
EUFOR assumed all the missions of SFOR, except for the hunt for individuals indicted by the war crimes tribunal, notably Radovan Karadžić, former leader of Republika Srpska, and Ratko Mladić, their former military leader, which remained a mission for NATO through NATO Headquarters Sarajevo. EUFOR does have police duties against organised crime, which is believed to be linked to suspected war criminals. It worked with the European Union Police Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUPM) and with the Bosnian Police. The European Union Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina provides political guidance on military issues with a local political dimension to the EUFOR.
A total of 25 countries, including EU Member States and non-EU Troop Contributing Countries (TCC) are present within EUFOR. (Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Moldova, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, North Macedonia, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, and Turkey).
On 18 December 2020, the United Kingdom marked the end of its 16-year contribution to EUFOR, following Brexit.
The Turkish Battalion moved to its new barracks in 2005, the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Barracks.
EUFOR personnel bases include: Multinational Battalion is EUFOR's military maneuver unit for BiH, located at Camp Butmir, Sarajevo, and comprises troops from Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Romania, Albania and Türkiye. 20 LOT Houses located throughout BiH to connect EUFOR to local communities and authorities. Houses are located in Cazin, Banja Luka (Romania) and Banja Luka (Slovenia), Brčko, Doboj, Drvar, Tuzla, Zavidovići, Travnik, Bratunac, Zenica, Vlasenica, Sarajevo, Livno, Jablanica, Višegrad, Foča, Mostar, Čapljina and Trebinje.
Contributing states List of countries EUFOR Althea: Country EU NATO Albania sends troops to EU’s peacekeeping mission in Bosnia, retrieved 04 February 2025. Einsatzzahlen österreichischen Streitkräfte , retrieved 28 March 2018. Einsatzzahlen bulgarische Streitkräfte, retrieved 14 March 2017. Einsatzzahlen chilenische Streitkräfte, retrieved 28 September 2016. Einsatzzahlen ungarische Streitkräfte, retrieved 14 March 2017. Einsatzzahlen italienische Streitkräfte, retrieved 28 September 2016. http://www.euforbih.org/eufor/index.php/eufor-news/latest-news/2071-visit-to-eufor-by-minister-of-defence-of-former-yugoslav-republic-of-macedonia-fyrom Einsatzzahlen mazedonische Streitkräfte Einsatzzahlen polnische Streitkräfte, retrieved 28 September 2016. , retrieved 28 September 2016. Einsatzzahlen slowakische Streitkräfte, retrieved 14 March 2017. Einsatzzahlen slowenische Streitkräfte, retrieved 28 September 2016. Einsatzzahlen spanische Streitkräfte, retrieved 14 March 2017. , Swiss Peace Support, retrieved 28 September 2016. Einsatzzahlen türkische Streitkräfte, retrieved 28 March 2018. 25 19 20
Withdrawn Country EU NATO Year of withdrawal 2012 2018 2013 2020
Commanders No. State Rank Name Tenure1Major generalDavid Leakey2 December 2004 – 6 December 20052Major generalGian Marco Chiarini6 December 2005 – 5 December 20063Rear admiralHans-Jochen Witthauer5 December 2006 – 4 December 20074Major generalIgnacio Martín Villalaín4 December 2007 – 4 December 20085Major generalStefano Castagnotto4 December 2008 – 3 December 20096Major generalBernhard Bair4 December 2009 – 6 December 20117Major generalRobert Brieger6 December 2011 – 3 December 20128Major generalDieter Heidecker3 December 2012 – 17 December 20149Major generalJohann Luif17 December 2014 – 24 March 201610Major generalFriedrich Schrötter24 March 2016 – 28 March 201711Major generalAnton Waldner28 March 2017 – 28 March 201812Major generalMartin Dorfer28 March 2018 – 26 June 201913Major generalReinhard Trischak26 June 2019 – 14 January 202114Major generalAlexander Platzer14 January 2021 – 20 January 202215Major generalAnton Wessely20 January 2022 – 18 January 202316Major generalHelmut Habermayer18 January 2023 – 22 January 202417Major generalLászló Sticz22 January 2024 – 21 January 202518Major generalFlorin-Marian Barbu21 January 2025 - 21 January 202619Major generalMaurizio Fronda21 January 2026 – present
See also
Military of the European Union European Union rapid reaction mechanism Common Security and Defence Policy European Union Military Operation in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
References
Further reading Le Monde (in French) EU military operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Operation EUFOR ALTHEA) Dominik Tolksdorf The Difficulties of the European Union in Supporting the Europeanization of Bosnia and Herzegovina EU Frontier Policy Paper, Budapest: Center for EU Enlargement Studies – Central European University, 2011
External links
Official EUFOR website The Council of the European Union's page on EUFOR-Althea The European Union Special Representative (EUSR) for Bosnia and Herzegovina the European Commission's Delegation to Bosnia & Herzegovina Swiss Military Department EUFOR page (in French)