EUFOR ALTHEA To Be Transformed

During his visit to Székesfehérvár on June 7, Maj.-Gen. Robert Brieger paid an office call to
Maj.-Gen. László Domján. During the discussions, the Austrian general received a briefing
on the structure and allocation of subordinate military organizations of the HDF JFC and on
Hungary’s peace support commitments. The COM EUFOR informed his partner about the
current issues of the transition in the peacekeeping operation ALTHEA.

Maj.-Gen. László Domján pointed out that he invited the COM EUFOR on his visit to
Bosnia-Herzegovina at the end of February so that they can discuss the next phases in the
transition of Operation ALTHEA, which will affect Hungary’s role in the mission as well.
There will be a further downsizing of the military component in the operation as a result of
increasing stability in Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH).

The general stressed that the members of the international community participating in the
operation – including the Hungarian Defence Forces – has made a decision on the form of
continuing cooperation. “From this autumn on, the Hungarian contingent will be an over-the-
horizon force (OTHF) (reserve force) of the operation. From that point on, the contingent will
be stationed in Hungary, and it will deploy to the theatre of operations only for the period
of joint cooperative exercises to be conducted together with the international forces and the
armed forces of BiH, or if need arises", László Domján said, also adding that with regard to
the number of troops, Hungary remains the third largest troop contributing nation (TCN) of
the operation, and the Hungarian Defence Forces continue to consider our commitment to it a
priority in the future as well.

 Photo: Veronika Dévényi and Viktória Bödő