EUFOR HANDS OVER MILITARY MOVEMENT CONTROL TO BOSNIAN ARMY

DOBOJ, Bosnia (January 28,2008) - The Commander of the European Union Force in Bosnia (EUFOR), Major General Ignacio Villalaín, the Bosnian Deputy Minister of Defence, Marina Pendes and the Commander of the Bosnian Armed Forces General Sifet Podzic attended at a ceremony at the Bosnian Armed Forces Barracks in Doboj.

The purpose of this ceremony was to formally hand over the responsibility of military movement control from the EUFOR to the Bosnian Armed Forces.A Memorandum of Understanding was signed by both the commander of the EUFOR and the commander of the Bosnian Army.

This allows the Bosnian Armed Forces to take complete control of the military movements of personnel, weapons, and equipment in Bosnia.This makes a hugely significant step in the ongoing Bosnian defence reform process that began in 1995 after the Dayton Peace Accord was signed, the EUFOR said.

The Bosnian Armed Forces continue to play an important role in the integration of the country into the EU and the NATO and these models show the success that can be achieved when the will exists.