OHR

HR/EUSR And Secretary General Call For Removal Of The Last Obstacle To BiH’s SAA

In Brussels late last night the High Representative and EU Special Representative in BiH, Miroslav Lajčak met the Secretary General of the Council of the EU and High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana.

After the meeting Javier Solana and Miroslav Lajčak said BiH Party leaders must remove the last obstacle preventing BiH from initialling its SAA by finding a compromise on police reform.

Mr. Solana underlined his full support, and the support of the European Union, for the HR/EUSR’s efforts.

Javier Solana called on BiH Party Leaders to engage constructively on the initiative presented by HR/EUSR Lajčak. He said that BiH’s leaders must recognise the fact that the vast majority of BiH citizens want EU integration and that it is the responsibility of the political leaders to deliver that to them.

The High Representative and EU Special Representative informed Secretary General Solana that despite initial rejection, the political parties have undertaken to submit written comments on the compromise protocol he presented, and that senior experts will meet in Sarajevo tomorrow for a round of technical talks.

The High Representative and EU Special Representative underlined that the deadline for agreement on Police Reform remains 30 September. He warned that unless party leaders show a greater responsibility towards BiH and a clear readiness for comprise on police reform, it will be impossible to reach an agreement in time for the Commission report.

We have a statement issued by Secretary General Solana after yesterday’s meeting: you can pick it up at the end of the conference.

At 15.00 today the HR-EUSR will address the EU Political and Security Committee, a key decision making body in the EU. Ambassador Lajčak will outline the current political situation in BiH and the evident lack of progress the country’s leaders have made towards the EU during the past year. A press release outlining his address will be available later in the day.

Technical Talks On Police Reform In Sarajevo Tomorrow

As the High Representative announced in Brussels yesterday we have been receiving written comments from parties in the Protocol on Police Reform presented at the end of last month.

The HR-EUSR has invited experts from the parties to gather in Sarajevo tomorrow for a round of technical discussions based on those comments.

There will be a photo opportunity at the start of that meeting and we will issue a media advisory with the details later in the day.

PDHR Gregorian Address To The BiH Foreign Trade Chamber

Principal Deputy High Representative Raffi Gregorian is addressing a meeting of the BiH Foreign Trader Chamber this morning: the Assembly meeting gathers representative’s of BiH’s most influential companies.

He will underline that investment, jobs and higher living standards depend on a return to a normal political atmosphere.

He will say that the deadlock over police reform and two or three others is keeping the people of this country poor, and that absence of normal politics is driving away investment, destroying jobs, hindering trade, and keeping living standards low.

We will be issuing a press release on the PDHR’s address shortly, and the text of the speech will be available on our Web Page this afternoon.

OSCE

OSCE Mission to BiH Launching Public Campaign “Better Planning - Better Budget - Better Schools”

In an effort to improve school budget planning, the OSCE Mission to BiH is launching the campaign “Better Planning - Better Budget - Better Schools” tomorrow at 11:30, UNITIC business centre, OSCE, Tower A, in Sarajevo.

According to all standards sufficient funds are spent on education at all levels, but the planning and distribution of the funds is irrational and impractical. 

Claude Kieffer, Director of OSCE Education Department, and Sladjana Curak, OSCE Finance and Management Adviser, will present the goals of the campaign, supported by the OSCE’s findings and research conducted in the last year. 

EUFOR

There was no statement.