The European Union Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said here on Monday that the 27-member bloc would initial a pre-membership agreement with Bosnia-Herzegovina after the Balkan country's rival ethnic leaders agreed to reform the police forces.
"I have decided to initial the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with Bosnia-Herzegovina tomorrow," Rehn told a news conference after meeting with Bosnia's leaders.
Earlier on Monday, the Bosnia-Herzegovina government adopted an action plan on police reforms, aiming at the eventual integration of the country's two ethnically divided police forces -- a key condition set by Brussels to sign the SAA, the first step to the EU membership.
"I am very pleased that I did not come in vain since leaders of the country have convinced me of their commitment to finish the job concerning police reform," Rehn said.
Rehn said a formal signing of the accord would depend on further reforms proving the country's ethnic halves, the Serb Republic and Muslim-Croat federation can work together.
According to the peace agreement that ended three-and-a-half-years of war in 1995, Bosnia-Herzegovina consists of the two semi-independent entities. Each has its own government, parliament and police.
Since 1995, almost all the ethnically divided structures of government have been merged, including the army, in which Serbs, Muslim Bosnians and Croats serve together, but not the police forces.
Rehn's decision came after Bosnia's parliament on Friday adopted new voting rules aimed at streamlining its work, opening the way to defuse the worst political crisis in the country since its 1992-1995 war.
The international community's top envoy to Bosnia, Miroslav Lajcak said Rehn's decision "puts Bosnia-Herzegovina back on the road to European integration after months of political uncertainty."
Lajcak introduced the new voting rules for the central government and instructed the parliament to change its own by Dec.1, after which he would have imposed them.
The crisis deepened in November following the resignation of Bosnian premier Nikola Spiric in protest at Lajcak's measures.
Bosnia-Herzegovina is the only country of the former Yugoslavia without any formal links to the EU bloc.
Source: Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article