The High Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, and the Political
Directors of the Peace Implementation Council's Steering Board yesterday a
constructive meeting with a delegation from the BIH State and Entity
Governments, headed by Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Zlatko Lagumdzija,
in Brussels.
During the meeting the European Commission gave a presentation
on the Stabilisation and Association Process for South Eastern Europe,
specifically outlining the concrete criteria to be met by BiH in order to make
progress within this process and facilitate integration into EU structures.
The Steering Board welcomed the Council of Ministers’ call for
an enhanced partnership with the International Community, as a necessary and
welcome step towards eventual full ownership requiring not only responsible
governance, but also a total, immediate, and professional commitment to drastic,
overdue, long-term, institutional, legal and economic reforms and
implementation.
Given the overall dire economic situation in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, and in the Republika Srpska in particular, about to be highlighted
again in an expected Country Assistance Strategy Report by the World Bank, the
Steering Board urged the State and Entity Governments to finally take concrete
and decisive steps towards full implementation of their Government Program aimed
in particular at fostering foreign investment and job creation. In this regard,
the Steering Board
the importance of full co-operation with ICTY.
The Steering Board warmly welcomes the adoption of the Election
Law and looks forward to its rapid implementation.
The Steering Board again stressed the necessity of establishing
a professional, merit-based civil service to provide the non-partisan expertise
and professional continuity required to bring about and implement these
imperative measures. The Steering Board urged the Council of Ministers to
immediately submit the Civil Service Law, in the version as agreed between OHR
and the CoM on 24 July, to the BiH Parliament. It also stressed the need to
implement the core modules of the Citizens Identification Protection System
(CIPS) Project without further delay.
