Police Reform Negotiations Must Conclude Before BiH Can Begin EU Negotiations

Matthew Rycroft, British Ambassador and EU Presidency inSarajevo, reiterated that negotiations on police reform need to conclude before Bosnia and Herzegovina can begin negotiations with the EU for a Stabilisation and Association Agreement. 

To be successful, the policing negotiations must uphold the three principles set out by the European Commission: securing the exclusive state-level competences on police, eliminating political interference from police, and ensuring that police regions are determined on the basis of technical and professional criteria.  These principles will not change.

When the institutional negotiations resume on Monday 12 September, we expect the RS representatives to show the necessary flexibility to reach an agreement that respects these principles.  If they do not, they will be held accountable for the failure of the negotiations and for the failure of Bosnia and Herzegovina to begin SAA negotiations, and they will be standing in the way of the vast majority of citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina who want their country to move closer to the EU.