Paris, 3 June 2009 – Since signing the Dayton Peace accords, Bosnia and Herzegovina had come a long way and needed to move on to its ultimate objective of fully-fledged membership of NATO and the European Union – so said Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Ana Trisic-Babic on Wednesday. The move had the full support of public opinion in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She therefore urged the EU and NATO member states to keep “the door open” and “maintain the Euro-Atlantic perspective” that would keep the country “on the right track” and help it make the additional effort needed to speed up the necessary reforms.

Addressing the Assembly during a debate on the western Balkans, she said that at the end of its mandate, in 2009, the Office of the High Representative (OHR) to Bosnia and Herzegovina should be closed down and the transition to that of EU Special Representative (EUSR) to Bosnia and Herzegovina should go ahead. Local politicians should be able “to take over burdens and responsibilities” and the switch would create an atmosphere in which politicians would be “forced to act differently”, talk intensively, negotiate and make compromises. It would also encourage a handover of power to a younger generation of politicians who fear that they could be removed from office at any time under the current arrangements.

Fourteen years on from an appalling three-year-long war, monumental reform has been achieved. The post-war period very quickly saw the birth of genuine reconciliation. Defence reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina have been among the most successful reforms undertaken and are still ongoing. The armed forces now number 10 000 professional soldiers (instead of the 40 000 there were previously) and are under the civilian supervision of the country’s President who is their sole commander in chief.

Bosnia and Herzegovina had every chance of securing a non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council in 2010-2011, said Mrs Trisic-Babic. The country is the only eastern European candidate and has received the written support of some 100 or so nations. If it were elected to the Security Council in October, there would be “no sense” in keeping the present Office of High Representative, she pointed out.

Constitutional reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina remains a tough task ahead – although it was not a pre-condition for EU accession, Mrs Trisic-Babic noted. Bearing in mind that general elections were due to be held in late 2010, it was clear that 2009 represented a unique opportunity for the country to complete its constitutional reform. Asked about Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence, she stated that the move had had no impact on Bosnia and Herzegovina and she still hoped for another solution to the Kosovo issue.