UN Extends EU Peacekeeping Force In Bosnia

(RFE/RL) 22 November 2005 -- The United Nations Security Council has renewed the mandate of the European Union-led peacekeeping force in Bosnia for another year.

The resolution was adopted unanimously by the 15-member Security Council on 21 November, the10th anniversary of the Dayton peace accords that ended the 1992-95 war in Bosnia.

The resolution also extends the mandate of the NATO headquarters staff in Bosnia which is assisting the EU's 6,500-strong peacekeeping mission.

The resolution recognized successes in Bosnia since the war ended, but said the Dayton agreement still has not yet been fully implemented. It said the primary responsibility for implementing the accords lies with Bosnian authorities, and reminded Bosnian authorities of their obligation to fully cooperate with the international war crimes tribunal.

Earlier on 21 November, EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels authorized the start of negotiations on 25 November on an agreement that could lead to Bosnia's eventual EU membership.

(AP/Reuters/AFP/dpa)