High Representative and EU Special Representative (HR/EUSR) Valentin Inzko met today in Sarajevo with a delegation of ten US Senators and Members of Congress*.
Setting out the current political situation, the HR/EUSR briefed them on the political barriers to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s progress towards Euro-Atlantic integration and fulfilment of the conditions set by PIC required for the OHR’s transition into the EUSR.
“The Peace Implementation Council’s Steering Board meets tomorrow; it is clear that they will not be in a position to consider a decision on OHR closure,” said Inzko.
The High Representative and EU Special Representative emphasized that the current situation in the country requires the engagement of the wider international community, in an effort to push BiH authorities to intensify their efforts in fulfilling their commitments from the European Partnership and the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the European Union, and Intensified Dialogue with NATO.
HR/EUSR welcomed the continued support Bosnia and Herzegovina and the OHR receive from the United States. He said that a united international community is an important precondition for his mandate and for BiH’s political leaders.
* Senator Dick Durbin, Senator George Voinovich, Senator Roger Wicker, Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, Congressman Darrell Issa, Congresswoman Gwen Moore, Congressman Mike McIntyre, Congressman Lloyd Doggett, Congressman Robert Aderholt and Congressman Christopher H. Smith.