Intl community's High Representative: Bosnia is facing serious challenges

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In his biannual report presented to the UN Security Council on Wednesday, the international community's administrator in Bosnia, Valentin Inzko, warned that the state government has still not been formed six months after the general election and spoke about "serious challenges" the country is facing.

The governments have also not been formed in one of Bosnia's two semi-autonomous entities, the Federation (FBiH), and in seven of the ten cantons within it, Inzko said in the opening lines of the 55th report.

This delay, he said, stems from disagreements among the largest ethnic-based parties on “necessary electoral reforms and Bosnia and Herzegovina's aspirations with regard to the NATO as well as inter-party politics in the Federation.”

As for the country's aspirations towards the integration into the European Union, Inzko emphasised, the leaders in Bosnia remained committed to that goal and have submitted the final answers to the European Commission's Questionnaire, now awaiting the opinion on its candidacy application.

Inzko assumed the post of High Representative in Bosnia in 2009, having been assigned to oversee the implementation of the Peace Accords which ended the 1992-95 Bosnian war.

In the latest report presented on Wednesday, he said Bosnia was facing serious challenges.

“As previously noted, during the reporting period, statements continued challenging the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency member Milorad Dodik again the most frequent exponent of such proclamations,” said the report.

He recalled that the Peace Implementation Council Steering Board, a body composed of foreign ambassadors in Bosnia, responded in January this year to an announced intention to challenge the name of Bosnia's Republika Srpska entity before the Constitutional Court as well as to the statements threatening with the secession of one of the entity. The ambassadors, said Inzko in the report, also responded to a declaration adopted by the Croat People's Assembly which rejected the war crime verdicts of The Hague-based international court.

It is necessary to avoid these negative trends, stressed the High Representative presenting the report.

“The Constitution says that Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of two entities: Federation and Republika Srpska. The international community remains committed to the territorial integrity and structure of this country.”

Speaking of the relations in the region, he expressed pleasure over the fact that “Mr Vucic (President of Serbia) still shows respect for Bosnia and Herzegovina.