Politics
Bosnia: EU assesses collapse of police reform talks
Sarajevo, 12 Oct. (AKI) – The European Union is pondering what steps to take in Bosnia, after leaders of the main political parties failed again to reach an agreement on police reforms.
The reforms are the main precondition for the country’s endorsement of a stabilisation and association agreement with the EU, the high representative of the international community in Bosnia (OHR) Miroslav Lajcak said on Friday.
“That is the decision of the political leaders who think that it’s good for them to reject the agreement,” Lajcak said.
“That is the message that Bosnia-Herzegovina is sending to Europe and which I’m taking to Brussels."
Lajcak said EU ministers would discuss the situation on Monday and decide what steps to take towards Bosnia.
After more than a year of political squabbling and several meetings this week, the leaders of the main political parties remain divided on the issue of police reform.
The previous deadline expired at the end of September but Lajcak extended it for two more weeks in a bid to reach a compromise.
The European Union has set three main principles for police reform, demanding that it should be organised and financed on a country level, without political influence.
But leaders of the Serb entity, Republika Srpska (RS) insist on retaining their own police under federal umbrella, while Muslim political leaders want the abolition of RS police and the entity itself.
According to the Dayton peace accord that ended the 1992-1995 civil war, Bosnia was divided into two entities, RS and a Muslim-Croat federation, with most state prerogatives.
But the international community, which safeguards peace in Bosnia, has gradually stripped entities of state powers, with police reforms remaining the last obstacle.
RS prime minister Milorad Dodik told a press conference on Friday he was disappointed that the international community and Muslim leaders showed no understanding for the Serb position, rooted in the Dayton accord. “Any proposal on police reform must contain RS police and written with capital letters,” Dodik said.
The reforms are the main precondition for the country’s endorsement of a stabilisation and association agreement with the EU, the high representative of the international community in Bosnia (OHR) Miroslav Lajcak said on Friday.
“That is the decision of the political leaders who think that it’s good for them to reject the agreement,” Lajcak said.
“That is the message that Bosnia-Herzegovina is sending to Europe and which I’m taking to Brussels."
Lajcak said EU ministers would discuss the situation on Monday and decide what steps to take towards Bosnia.
After more than a year of political squabbling and several meetings this week, the leaders of the main political parties remain divided on the issue of police reform.
The previous deadline expired at the end of September but Lajcak extended it for two more weeks in a bid to reach a compromise.
The European Union has set three main principles for police reform, demanding that it should be organised and financed on a country level, without political influence.
But leaders of the Serb entity, Republika Srpska (RS) insist on retaining their own police under federal umbrella, while Muslim political leaders want the abolition of RS police and the entity itself.
According to the Dayton peace accord that ended the 1992-1995 civil war, Bosnia was divided into two entities, RS and a Muslim-Croat federation, with most state prerogatives.
But the international community, which safeguards peace in Bosnia, has gradually stripped entities of state powers, with police reforms remaining the last obstacle.
RS prime minister Milorad Dodik told a press conference on Friday he was disappointed that the international community and Muslim leaders showed no understanding for the Serb position, rooted in the Dayton accord. “Any proposal on police reform must contain RS police and written with capital letters,” Dodik said.
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