§ Lord Astor of Heverasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the letter detailing the future scope of the European Union Bosnian Mission recently signed in Brussels between the Dutch, Luxembourg and British delegations and the Bosnian Prime Minister. [HL3275]
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean):We are not aware of any such letter.
§ Lord Astor of Heverasked Her Majesty's Government:
What NATO presence is expected in Bosnia-Herzegovina when the European Union takes over the SFOR operation there; and what will be the British contribution to it. [HL3276]
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean:No final decisions have yet been taken on the size of the NATO presence which we expect will stay on in Bosnia-Herzegovina once SFOR withdraws. We expect the NATO presence to be a few hundred strong, and that it will focus on defence reform and some operational tasks including detaining indicted war criminals and counter-terrorism. The UK intends to support the continuing NATO presence by seconding a small number of staff to the NATO HQ in Sarajevo although no firm decisions have yet been taken. The UK's main military commitment in Bosnia will, however, be through the proposed EU-led military mission, for which we have offered to take the first lead.