Time to Meet the Ownership Challenge
The Political Directors of the Peace Implementation Council (
Political Directors congratulated
It is now even more important that the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially in Republika Srpska, meet their international and Dayton obligations to cooperate fully with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia – including playing a proactive role in apprehending all indicted war criminals, notably Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, and in transferring them to The Hague as well as in dismantling their criminal support networks. As underlined by NATO’s decision on PfP, the international community has made it clear that it expects
Political Directors further pointed out that PfP membership brings with it additional obligations and responsibilities. With this in mind, Political Directors noted that the hiring of personnel, the full implementation of the defence and armed forces structure and the transfer from the Entities to the State of all property needed for defence purposes, as required by the Defence Law, are essential for the success of defence reform and must be achieved as soon as possible. They also noted that
Political Directors urged
Political Directors also urged
Preparations for the OHR’s closure are continuing, in line with the decision of June 2006 to close OHR at the end of June 2007, subject to review and confirmation in February. Political Directors noted their concern with some aspects of the current situation in
Police Restructuring
The Steering Board welcomed the work of the Police Directorate and believed that the proposals developed so far by this professional body provide a sound basis for police reform in
Constitutional Reform
The Steering Board emphasised that constitutional reform is an urgent prerequisite for establishing a functional State of Bosnia and
The Steering Board continues to stand firmly behind the early adoption of the first package of constitutional amendments agreed to by six political parties in March. The package offers a positive first step in a longer-term process that will help
The Steering Board expressed support for the work of the High Representative/EU Special Representative and the United States to facilitate constitutional reform, and welcomed the commitment of the European Union and the United States to work together to support further constitutional reform, and noted that the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe was ready to lend further help and expertise in this process.
Broader Reform Agenda
The Steering Board reiterated the importance of fiscal sustainability, in particular in the finalisation of 2007 budgets, and urged authorities to form a strong and effective National Fiscal Council.
The Steering Board called upon the new Parliament to enact pending education and higher education legislation without further delay and urged political leader to regard as an absolute priority improvement of education provided at all levels, primary, secondary and higher.
The Steering Board called on the Federation Parliament to initiate and adopt a new Public Broadcasting Service Law as a matter or urgency.
The Steering Board called on the incoming State, Entity and Brcko District governments to incorporate the Public Administration Reform Action Plan into their work plans and to begin its implementation; it also urged the incoming State and Entity governments to appoint Public Administration Reform coordinators.
The Steering Board recognised the progress achieved by the State Property Commission in drafting property legislation and called upon the incoming governments to reach consensus on key principles by which to distribute pre-war public property between the State, Entities and Brcko District.
The Steering Board called upon the newly elected governments to engage in a constructive and effective dialogue with civil society and particularly emphasized the importance of adopting the Agreement on Cooperation between Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the non-governmental sector, as well as regulating the legal status of state-level cultural institutions.
Visa Facilitation
The
Mostar
The Steering Board expressed its satisfaction with the arbitration award passed by the Special Envoy Norbert Winterstein aiming at resolving the long-lasting dispute over the Hercegovacka Radio-Televisija (
The Steering Board called upon Mostar authorities and political leaders to accept and carry out these decisions in order to complete the implementation of the Mostar City Statute. It also urged all BiH and Federation leaders to facilitate the completion of Mostar unification.
Brcko
The Steering Board noted that a draft law regulating the relations between Brcko District and
The Steering Board expressed its concern that despite its previous urgings for a satisfactory resolution to the issue of VAT revenue allocation, the Governing Board of the Indirect Taxation Authority has so far failed to identify a way to resolve the matter in a systematic manner, thereby prompting the District to file a written submission to the Arbitral Tribunal. The Steering Board expressed its hope that the issue could be resolved by negotiations and concluded that the adoption of the draft Law and a fair resolution of the dispute over revenue allocation should lead to the withdrawal of all complaints currently pending with the Tribunal.
Transition
Political Directors welcomed
The next meeting of the