The Ambassadors of the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council welcome yesterday’s vote to confirm Vjekoslav Bevanda as the incoming Chair of the Council of Ministers, which is an important step in implementing the agreement reached by party leaders in December 2011. We hope that responsible institutions, with the support of the six political parties represented in the new Council of Ministers, will take the necessary steps on an urgent basis to confirm the full Council of Ministers, adopt the global fiscal framework and a 2012 budget that ensures the full functioning of the state-level institutions and the fulfilment of BiH’s international obligations, and adopt the decisions necessary for EU integration, as the PIC Steering Board called for in December. PIC Steering Board Ambassadors from NATO countries and Japan continue to call upon the BiH authorities to complete the steps necessary to enable the start of the country’s NATO Membership Action Plan.