On Wednesday, February 1st, at Camp Butmir Military Base (Sarajevo), Minister of National Defence, Angel Tilvar, and the Chief of Defence Staff, General Daniel Petrescu, met with the Romanian soldiers participating in Operation EUFOR ALTHEA, the Commander of the European Union Mission from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Major General Helmut Habermayer (Austria) and the Commander of the NATO Headquarters Sarajevo, Brigadier General Pamela McGaha (USA).

The talks with the EUFOR and NATO officials tackled the security situation from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the increased complexity of threats emerging in the Western Balkans, following the war led by the Russian Federation in Ukraine. Also, during the meeting, the officials also approached the continuous presence of the Romanian troops in Operation EUFOR ALTHEA.

Also, the officials commended the contributing countries' commitment to the EU Operation in ensuring a safe and stable climate in BiH.

Being one of the top contributing countries to Operation EUFOR ALTHEA, Romania will remain fully committed to the efforts made to maintain a safe and stable security climate in the Western Balkans, a region of strategic importance for us. We are very proud of the exemplary way in which the Romanian soldiers accomplish their assigned tasks and we'll stay committed to this mission assumed by the European Union, Minister Angel Tilvar stated.

In his turn, the Chief of Defence Staff commended the continuous training process of the troops conducted within the EU mission with a view of increasing cohesion and interoperability of the force structure from this theater of operations. Starting May, the Chief of Staff position of Operation EUFOR ALTHEA will be manned by a Romanian soldier. It is a result of the appreciation of our mission colleagues but also a new important responsibility assigned to the Romanian troops deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina, General Daniel Petrescu stated.

During the MoND delegation's meeting with the Commander of the NATO Headquarters Sarajevo, the talks mainly focused on the security situation from BiH and the support the Alliance offers to the EU Mission.

In the second part of the visit, the MoND leadership met with the detachment made up of 200 Romanian soldiers of the EUFOR ALTHEA force structure. The maneuver small units of the Romanian contingent are generated by 22nd and 26th Infantry Battalions of the HQ MN BG SE. The briefing was made by Lieutenant Colonel Marian Coman, the national senior from this theater of operations. The official presented the type and number of missions executed and the developments of the security situation from the assigned area of operations. The soldiers reported that, considering the relative stability, the current agenda of Operation EUFOR ALTHEA includes missions, exercises and training sessions alongside the colleagues from the BiH armed forces.

Minister Angel Tilvar emphasized the performance of the longest participation of the Romanian troops in a multinational theater of operations: The Stability from Bosnia and Herzegovina is also definitely the result of our country's contribution, due to the devotion of its soldiers throughout the successive rotations of the EU Mission starting 2004 as well as throughout the NATO IFOR and NATO SFOR missions which preceded the EU Mission since 1996, to which the Romanian Armed Forces paid their blood tribute with a soldiers who fell on duty and three injured soldiers.

Currently, the Romanian contingent participating in the EU Operation in BiH is the biggest Romanian contributing structure to foreign missions so far. At the same time, General Daniel Petrescu pointed out the fact that, currently, the Romanian troops are one of the most significant national contributions to EUFOR ALTHEA. It is also the reason for which the responsibility with which the Romanian soldiers execute their missions reflects in the success of the mission itself.

At the end of the visit, Minister Angel Tilvar and General Daniel Petrescu awarded plaques wearing the MoND heraldic sign and the Emblem of Honor of the Defence Staff and the Emblem of Merit in the Service of Peace, second class to several soldiers.

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EU's Operation EUFOR ALTHEA in BiH was initiated in December 2004, based on the UNO Security Council mandate (UN Resolution no. 1575/2004). The mission succeeded Operations SFOR and IFOR, conducted under NATO command. Since 2012, EUFOR ALTHEA has been focused on the training and consolidation of the BiH armed forces' capacity. The main objectives of Operation EUFOR ALTHEA are supporting the EU's overall strategy for BiH, providing a safe and stable environment, especially through the support offered to the public authorities and the combined and collective training of the armed forces from this country. There are currently 1,100 soldiers of 21 contributing nations participating in Operation EUFOR ALTHEA: Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Chile, The Czech Republic, Denmark, Switzerland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, North Macedonia, Polonia, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey and Hungary.

The Press Office