A contingent of about 50 Irish troops is among soldiers from more than 30 countries who have taken over peacekeeping operations in Bosnia as part of the EU's biggest ever military operation.
A ceremony formalising the handover from NATO to the EU force, known as EUFOR, took place in the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, this morning.
The ceremony was overseen by the EU foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, and NATO's Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.
Some 7,000 soldiers from 22 EU states and non-union states such as Canada and Turkey will be deployed in the new force.
12 of the Irish Defence Forces' members will be based at the EUFOR headquarters in Sarajevo, while the other 40 will be stationed in the northeastern town of Tuzla.
NATO's Stabilisation Force, known as SFOR, has been in Bosnia since the war in the region ended in 1995.
SFOR's original 60,000-strong deployment has been gradually reduced to the current level of 7,000 soldiers.
