The U.N. Security Council extended the European Union peacekeeping force in Bosnia for a year on Monday and welcomed the Balkan nation's progress toward EU membership 10 years after a peace agreement ended a bitterly divisive war. A resolution adopted unanimously by the council also extended NATO's mandate to assist the 6,500-strong EU peacekeeping mission in Bosnia.The council voted on the peacekeeping measures hours after EU foreign ministers authorized the start of negotiations on an agreement to prepare Bosnia for membership. The EU said the negotiations would start Friday in the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo.
Security has improved over the years, allowing the NATO-led force to transfer peacekeeping duties last year to a new European Union Force, known as EUFOR. Monday's resolution authorizes EUFOR to continue "the main peace stabilization role" in Bosnia along with the NATO. It gives both military organizations the right "to take all necessary measures" to implement the Dayton agreement and defend themselves.