The High Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, today in Sarajevo met with the Dutch Foreign Minister, Jozias van Aartsen. The High Representative informed Minister van Aarsten about current developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina, describing progress that has been made. However, he also noted that the country is facing serious challenges, especially with regard to the implementation of the Constitutional Court's Decision on the constituency of peoples, and the upcoming elections. The High Representative reiterated that time for making the necessary amendments to the Entity Constitutions is running short, as the gaps still left in the Election Law must be filled.

The High Representative also informed Minister von Aartsen about the ongoing streamlining of the International Community's presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina, outlining the clear model that has been developed to provide a framework within which the domestic authorities can assume greater ownership of the political process. There is, he assured the Dutch minister, a serious committment on the side of the International Community to move from partnership to ownership and hand back to the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina responsibility for their own affairs.