Luxembourg, 12/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 12 October, the foreign affairs ministers of the EU members states called on the leaders of Bosnia-Herzegovina to maintain the positive momentum in implementing reforms “in line with the citizens' demands and in cooperation with civil society”.
In the conclusions they adopted, the ministers hail the adoption of the reform agenda in July 2015, stating that “meaningful progress on the implementation of the agenda for reforms will be necessary for a membership application” to be considered by the EU. Bosnia-Herzegovina is also asked to uphold its commitment and obligations under the stabilisation and association agreement (SAA) when this comes into force.
The Council expresses its “serious concern” about the preparations for holding an entity-level referendum on the state-level judiciary in Republika Srpska, saying that the holding of such a referendum “would challenge the cohesion, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina” and would risk undermining the efforts to improve the socio-economic situation of all Bosnia and Herzegovina citizens and to make further progress in EU integration. “The shortcomings of Bosnia and Herzegovina judiciary should be addressed in the structured dialogue on justice”, the EU ministers advise.
The EU foreign ministers also hail the continued presence of Operation Althea, and reiterate their agreement to keep the operation under regular review, “with a view to assessing progress on the conditions conducive to the delivery of its mandate”. The aim of this operation is to maintain a climate of security in the country and to ensure the Dayton peace agreement is respected. “In this context, furthering the efforts of Operation Althea in the field of capacity building and training could be considered”, the ministers state. They encourage the authorities at the same time, with the support of the international community, “to accelerate their efforts to address the disposal of excess ammunition”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)