WHY HUNGARIANS AGAIN? EUFOR CONSIDERS SENDING NEW FORCES TO BIH

(Patria) - Due to the newly emerged situation after the adoption of unconstitutional laws in RS, EUFOR BiH is considering sending new forces to BiH.

New units from Romania, Hungary, and Italy should arrive in BiH.

The EUFOR mission could be increased by 400 soldiers, and new helicopters could also arrive.

Unofficial information suggests that new forces should arrive in BiH next week.

Member of the BiH Presidency Denis Bećirović today called on EUFOR to deploy forces throughout the country and stated that an attack on the constitutional order is underway.

However, the question remains open as to why exactly Hungarians should come, given what has happened in recent days regarding Hungarian members of the police forces in RS.

We remind you that the member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Željko Komšić officially requested the exclusion of the Hungarian contingent of EUFOR in BiH from the European Council. Komšić addressed the President of the European Council Antonio Costa with this request.

“Dear Mr. Costa,” Komšić wrote, “with gratitude for the opportunities provided for Bosnia and Herzegovina to continue its path towards full membership in the European Union, as well as for the understanding shown by the institutions of the European Union, I take the liberty to ask you, in cooperation with the EU Political and Security Committee (PSC), the EU Military Committee (EUMC), Ms. Kaja Kallas, EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, and Luigi Soreca, Head of the EU Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina, to consider the request for the replacement of the Hungarian contingent within the EUFOR forces with a military contingent from another EU country (excluding forces from the Republic of Croatia, which, according to the Dayton Peace Agreement, cannot have military forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina).

In the letter, Komšić stated that “the reason for such a request is the continuous activities of high-ranking Hungarian officials who, in their positions, express direct political and economic support for Mr. Milorad Dodik, one of the political actors in Bosnia and Herzegovina, who has been undermining the constitutional and legal order of Bosnia and Herzegovina for some time, which is causing constant destabilization in the country and the region, due to his secessionist ideas and intentions”.

“It is particularly sensitive that such support is expressed at a time when Mr. Dodik is undergoing court proceedings in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which must be free from any political influence and interference. Due to such political stances of high-ranking Hungarian officials, a perception has been created in the general public of Bosnia and Herzegovina about their evident bias, which could ultimately lead to a lack of trust in the sincere intentions of the EUFOR-Althea mission,” wrote the member of the BiH Presidency.

Komšić emphasizes that the EUFOR-Althea mission must be completely neutral and within its mandate, and that the presence of forces from an EU country that expresses bias towards political actors with secessionist ideas and intentions against Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is very harmful to the state and its institutions, does not contribute and cannot contribute to creating an atmosphere of impartiality of EUFOR forces in carrying out their mission.