Ten days have passed since our press conference in which we set out what was at stake for Republika Srpska and BiH by refusing to agree to police restructuring in line with the EC principles.
We urged the RS to think again.
Ten days on, the RS Government has still not found a way forward. On Friday, it produced a proposal, which the EC has once again said does not meet its principles.
We make clear again that there is no danger for the RS in agreeing to police restructuring. It is essential to open the way to SAA negotiations and to the EU, which is the only way to guarantee the RS’s long-term peace and prosperity. The dangerous course, as others have already made clear, lies in using the constitution to block the future of the RS and of the entire country by blocking progress to Europe.
This week is an important week – a week in which the EU will take key decisions on enlargement, and the PIC SB at Political Director level from capitals will meet in Sarajevo on Thursday to consider the way forward for BiH.
The clock is ticking for BiH and for the RS. This matter must be resolved in days. The RS authorities have a clear choice: to find a solution that chooses Europe, or to risk isolation. So they must think again and act to meet the EC’s three principles in time for Thursday’s PIC Steering Board meeting.