Brussels, 24/05/2000 (Agence Europe) - On the 23 May, the High Representative for ESDP, Javier Solana, said to the Bosnian leaders, gathered for two days in Brussels during the ministerial meeting of the Council for the implementation of peace, that Bosnia Herzegovina has "every reason to be optimistic as to its future place in Europe if it learns the lessons from the past." We want you in the "European family", he asserted, adding: "It is for you to determine the speed at which you progress" (towards the completion of a feasibility study of a EU/Bosnia stabilisation and association agreement). Mr. Solana recognised that, "as the priorities, for the donor community, ceaselessly increase less money will flow to Bosnia in the coming years," and that SFOR "will not be there indefinitely." It is time for the international community to return more and more responsibility into the hands of the Bosnian leaders, felt Mr. Solana. Bosnia must "learn to help itself", he repeated, insisting in particular on the acceleration of the return of more refugees: there has been recent progress in this area, but "with 800,000 displaced persons inside Bosnia much remains to be done," he noted.
Bosnia must "demonstrate its ability to function as a sovereign country," said the Council President Mr. Gama.
The Yugoslav government protested in a press release as it had not been invited and welcomed the decision by Russia and China not to come to Brussels to protest at its exclusion.