Speeches

It is a pleasure to be back in Mostar and in Herzegovina … again! As my BiH colleagues know, Mostar has taken up much of my time over the last few months as we have, together, embarked on the long and difficult process of re-unifying this Great City – a process that, exactly one month ago, led to the enactment of a new City Statute. I have to t [...]

I have come here this morning directly from a meeting with the Federation and State prime ministers and the leaders of the two parliaments. Tomorrow I will repeat the meeting with the Prime Minister and leadership of the RSNA in Banja Luka . The message that we in the International Community are trying to get across I believe is an important one [...]

The concept of Alternative Dispute Resolution may be new to Bosnia and Herzegovina but it has been used in many countries very successfully for years. It is a tool to circumvent the long waiting time required for the resolution of commercial court disputes, something this country urgently needs if it is to attract investment and promote economic gr [...]

Restructuring a country’s power sector – as I need hardly point out to most people in this room – is like renewing the foundations of a building, without disturbing the building’s stability or disrupting the activities in the building. It’s a mammoth task and it has to be undertaken with continuous reference to shifting political and economic reali [...]

Is there anyone here who doesn’t know this country better than international advisors? Do you really feel you need advice on how to improve services to your citizens? And do you need the International Community to decide all the key questions dealing with services to citizens? If, as I expect, the answer is no, then it is time for you to begin to [...]

First, let me say thank you to our host, the Tropic Holding Company. I am looking forward to hearing in some detail about the steps that were taken in order to create an effective management structure for this company of more than 400 employees. This is an unusual gathering – at least in BiH – because we are here to talk about a subject that is s [...]

We are gathered here in the cold of a Bosnian winter to bid farewell to our friend and colleague, Sven Frederiksen. Sven’s warmth as a human being was one of his foremost qualities. We could have done with that warmth today. Sarajevo has seen more than its fair share of sadness as a city. Sven devoted so much of his professional life to reliev [...]

Mr President, Mr Mayor, Councillors, representatives of the District Administration and the Judiciary, distinguished guests: Last summer, I was asked to take the position of Supervisor of Brcko. The more I learned about the it, the Final Award, and the important work going on here, the more interested I became. It’s now a great pleasure for me t [...]

Transformation means different things to different people. It depends a good deal on one’s vantage point. Southeast Europe has different contours when viewed from Brussels than from say Skopje, or for that matter, from Sofia or from Sarajevo. Today I want to provide a perspective on Balkan transition from an insider point of view. When you see it [...]

This country must take urgent steps now to ensure job growth and economic expansion. It can’t be done by the government alone, everyone—the International Community, mayors and citizens themselves – must do their part. But it is clear to me that it can be done, because there are already pockets of economic prosperity developing around this country [...]