At the EU Foreign Affairs Council on Monday 16 October, the EU foreign ministers urged the authorities of Bosnia-Herzegovina to speed up the implementation of comprehensive reforms in an inclusive manner. The ministers also regretted that divisive rhetoric and an early electoral agenda have slowed down the pace of reform and had a negative effect on the political climate.
In particular, the institutions in Bosnia-Herzegovina should redouble their efforts on the operation and independence of the judicial system, on the fight against corruption and organised crime, and on the prevention of radicalisation, the EU foreign ministers state in the conclusions they adopted without debate. The Council also expects Bosnia-Herzegovina to improve its electoral framework, underlining that the electoral reforms should be addressed in a spirit of consensus and dialogue, with the goal of moving closer to European standards.
As part of the enlargement process, the Council encourages Bosnia-Herzegovina to continue its work to respond to the questionnaire relating to the Commission's opinion on candidate status. The Council once again calls on all levels of governance in Bosnia-Herzegovina to ensure the effectiveness of the coordination mechanism –and especially to ensure harmonised and consolidated responses to the questionnaire relating to the Commission's opinion.
The Council confirms "the EU's readiness to continue at this stage the executive military role of Operation Althea to support Bosnia and Herzegovina's authorities to maintain the safe and secure environment, under a renewed UN mandate". This renewal could come at the end of the year. The EU also calls on the authorities in Bosnia-Herzegovina to step up efforts, with the aid of the international community, to address the issues of removing excess munitions and demining. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)