Transcript of the International Agencies’ Joint Press Conference

OHR

High Representative to ChairPIC

The High Representative will this evening and tomorrow chair a meeting of the Political Directors of the Peace Implementation Council Steering Board in Vienna . It will be the first such meeting under the chairmanship of the new High Representative since he took office at the end of January.

Representatives of BiH led by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers Adnan Terzic will also join the meeting.

The High Representative will brief the Political Directors on progress BiH has made and the functioning of the domestic institutions. As this is his first meeting with the full PIC, the High Representative will outline his priorities for the next 12 months; namely to maintain progress towards the EU & NATO, while at the same time the OHR will continue the process of transferring responsibilities to the BiH Authorities in order to prepare for the transition to an EUSR Office.

Reflecting this I would draw your attention to the fact that the actual configuration of the PIC meeting will be different. Traditionally the High Representative and his team sat at one end of the conference table and the BiH PM and his team sat at the other end. The two sides faced one another. At this PIC meeting the HR and the PM will sit together. Obviously this is simply a change of table settings but it reflects a more important change, one that the HR has emphasised since taking up his position as High Representative; that is that the IC is no longer going to act as an alternative source of authority instead it will work actively to support the democratically elected authorities of the country.

You will also note that this PIC is taking place in Vienna ; this is because the Austrian Presidency offered to host the meeting; the region is one of the Presidency’s priorities. The venue indicates the growing role of the EU in BiH’s future.

There PIC takes place in the Palais Ferstel, [Strauchgasse 4] and there will be a number of media opportunities during the day;

There will be a photo opportunity at the beginning of the meeting at 10.00 and then the High Representative and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers will hold a short press conference at 11:15 – those journalists interested in attending should contact then OHR Press Office here in Sarajevo to register.

The PIC will, as usual, issue their communiqué later in the afternoon.

OSCE

No statement.

EUFOR

Signing of Memorandum of Understanding – Joint Venture Projects

EUFOR is committed to working closely with government and local authorities in programmes aimed at road, rail, bridge and tunnel reconstruction, through Joint Venture Projects.  In this EUFOR provides significant finances and expertise.

The new plans for the forthcoming project phase have now been agreed.  On Tuesday 14 March 2006, a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the forthcoming Joint Venture Projects programme will be signed between COM EUFOR, Major-General Chiarini, and the Ministers of Transport and Communication of both Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Republika Srpska; Ministers Brankovic and Cubrilovic.  The signing ceremony will take place at 1400.

The media are cordially invited to attend.  All those attending should meet outside the pedestrian access at the main vehicle gate to Camp Butmir at 1330 on Tuesday 14 match, bringing suitable identification documents with them.