By Bruno Waterfield - 20th October 2005
Bosnia must move towards independent self-rule if Sarajevo is to complete the first step towards EU membership, the European Commission said on Friday.
Brussels has recommended that the EU open ‘Stabilisation and Association Agreement’ (SAA) talks with Bosnia.
But calling for the negotiations to begin, EU enlargement chief Olli Rehn called on Bosnia to move “from peace building to state-building”.
“We have reached a stage in political development of Bosnia and Herzegovina where only the people and the institutions of the country can agree on what kind of a country and what kind of institutions they want,” he said.
“This must be a process led by Bosnia and Herzegovina, with its citizens at the centre of this process.”
Bosnia and Herzegovina is presently governed by an English lord, Paddy Ashdown, in the Office of the High EU Special Representative, a post created in 1995.
The protectorate set up by the Dayton Peace Agreement in the aftermath of Balkans civil war is now run by the EU.
Usually the EU enters into negotiations with sovereign national states, giving contemporary Bosnia an awkward status – as Rehn recognises.
“The role still played by the high representative… is problematic. These limit Bosnia and Herzegovina’s ownership for decision-making and reform,” said Rehn.
“Time has now come for Bosnia and Herzegovina to assume more responsibility for its own future.”
“The commission cannot imagine negotiating an SAA with a high representative.”
The commission is not, however, urging high representative rule for Bosnia to be wound up – for the time being.
“As a number of challenges still remain, the transition from the high representative to full local ownership must depend on real progress on the ground, not on artificial deadlines or political promises,” said Rehn.
Rehn is warning home-grown Bosnian leaders in the country’s 13 governments that EU membership must see reform.
“For a country which aims at closer ties and ultimately EU membership, it is necessary to develop constitutional arrangements that are compatible with progress towards European integration.”
“What I envisage is a constitutional evolution rather than an overall constitutional review. I hope that Bosnian political leaders can manage to reach an agreement in time before the next elections,” he said.
“The debate is not about abolishing entities or rights of the peoples, but about making the country more viable and functional, so that every citizen can enjoy real freedom and real rights.”
Bosnia has, in Rehn’s words, an “expensive and multi-layered bureaucracy” for four million people with 700 MPs, 180 prime ministers and three presidents.
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