Italian Major General Stefano Castagnotto took up on Thursday the post of the commander of the European Union's peacekeeping force (EUFOR) in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Following the change of command ceremony in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, Castagnotto replaced Spanish Major General Ignacio Martin Villalain, who completed his one-year tenure as commander of EUFOR, the Bosnian news agency FENA reported.
Castagnotto said that Bosnia-Herzegovina and those helping the country were facing significantly different challenges because now they had a common objective -- speedy admission to Euro-Atlantic associations.
"I am reaffirming today the dedication of EUFOR to do our best in assisting the citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina in their journey toward a brighter future," Castagnotto said during the ceremony atthe EUFOR's headquarters in Camp Butmir.
Villalain said the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina was stable and that during his mandate there had been no serious incidents that could have brought the security in the country into question.
After NATO's decision to conclude its SFOR mission there, the EU's Althea peacekeeping mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina was launched in December 2004 to monitor the implementation of the military part of the Dayton Agreement which ended Bosnia's 1992-1995 war.
The EUFOR currently numbers more than 2,100 soldiers from 26 countries, of which 21 are EU members.
Source:Xinhua
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