As long as developments in Bosnia are unpredictable, the European Union's military deployment (EUFOR) has to continue its presence there, Operation Commander for EUFOR Operation Althea Lieutenant General Olivier Rittimann said during the visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina and its institutions this week.

“EUFOR has to continue its work as a physical and psychological presence, a visible assurance of the European Union’s commitment to peace and stability of the Western Balkans,” a press release by EUFOR HQ quoted Rittman as saying.

“It is not a sprint that we are running, but a marathon,” he added.

EUFOR's Operation Althea was introduced in 2004 as a successor of the NATO's SFOR and IFOR peacekeeping missions in Bosnia, in charge of overseeing the military implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA), a treaty that ended the 1992-95 Bosnian war and that contains the country's Constitution.

The civilian part of the peace treaty's implementation is overseen by the Office of the High Representative, a top foreign authority in Bosnia with powers to impose laws and decisions.