Major General Anton Wessely, the commander of the EU military forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina, lined up on Friday the members of the EUFOR Multinational Battalion, including the recently deployed reserve forces.

The ceremony kicked off with a flight of helicopters over the Butmir Camp, near Sarajevo.

Wessely said on this occasion that the EUFOR would be continuously assess whether it is necessary for the reserve forces to remain in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“As commander, I activated the reserve forces, but not because of the deteriorating security situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. On the contrary, our indicators of threats and changes in a safe and stable environment have not changed in recent weeks. My decision to activate the reserve forces stemmed from the soldiers’ obligation to be ready for any situation,” Wessely said.

Postrojavanje svih pripadnika Multinacionalnog bataljona uključujući i nedavno aktivirane rezervne snage EUFOR-a @euforbih pic.twitter.com/bSZlobegoX

— TV N1 Sarajevo (@N1infoSA) March 11, 2022

He also said that the management of reserve forces is the foundation of any military operation.

“EUFOR normally has 600 members deployed in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The deployment of medium-level reserve forces has activated our reserve force concept, and that, if I consider it a prudent concept, I can call in additional reserve forces if necessary,” Wessely was quoted as saying.

He announced that all six maneuver units of EUFOR will start patrolling across the country in order to increase the EUFOR's visibility.

“We intend to establish broader deployment areas to increase the visibility of our forces and strengthen connections with local authorities,” he underlined

The ceremony was also attended by BiH Presidency Chairman Zeljko Komsic and Head of the EU Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina Johann Sattler.