The New Year is off to a good and auspicious start with agreement on the formation of a government after months of negotiations, the High Representative and EU Special Representative, Christian Schwarz-Schilling, wrote in his weekly newspaper column.
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The High Representative and EU Special Representative indicated that he was encouraged by the fact that agreement had been reached by the parties themselves with minimal intervention from the international community. “This is in line with the philosophy I laid out when taking up my position as High Representative and EU Special Representative just under a year ago, namely that I would not intervene in problem-solving where solutions were properly the responsibility of
Mr Schwarz-Schilling paid tribute to the way in which the Presidency, which has constitutional responsibility for nominating the Chair of the Council of Ministers, had helped broker the agreement. “The ability to form governments within a reasonable timeframe is also critical to meeting the ownership challenge necessary for transition to take place in
Mr Schwarz-Schilling also praised party leaders for demonstrating a willingness to make necessary compromises and accommodate each others’ positions to agree a common programme. “This is precisely the kind of pragmatic approach that politicians need to demonstrate to take responsibility for
The High Representative and EU Special Representative pointed out, however, that a new administration was still not in place and that much work remains to be done to ensure that
Mr Schwarz-Schilling noted that the programme that the parties agreed places
Mr Schwarz-Schilling also pointed out that drawing up a programme that all coalition partners can agree on is only the first step towards the creation of an effective government. “The test of the government will be the way in which it seeks to develop policies to back up this programme and address key issues, such as constitutional reform, on which there are currently diverging positions,” he wrote.
“It is critical that the new government comes together as soon as possible and that it and parliament focus on the reform agenda and address the many outstanding issues that can contribute both to