Eurasia Press & News
The EU Enlargement Commissioner said Bosnia needs to meet its obligations under the EU road map, especially in connection with the Sejdic-Finci ruling. Stefano Sannino, European Commissioner for Enlargement, told Nermin Niksic, the Prime Minister of Bosnia’s Federation entity, that Brussels supports Bosnia’s further EU progress.
The two officials discussed Bosnia’s integration process, which is being held up by the failure to implement a key 2009 European Court of Human Rights judgment.
In the “Sejdic-Finci” ruling, the Strasbourg Court told Bosnia to change its constitution to allow minorities to run for top posts now reserved for members of the three largest ethnic groups, Bosniaks [Muslims], Serbs and Croats.
Sannino stressed that EU did not propose any specific model, but sought some form of implementation of the ruling, adding that Bosnia’s election law needed to be harmonised in line with it, as general elections in 2014 were looming.
He recalled that political leaders in the country had agreed to find a solution to the ruling in July 2012, stressing the need to speed up activities in that regard.
“I hope that the issue of European perspective of the country will be resolved in the next couple of weeks,” Sannino said.
Sannino also announced a visit by Stefan Fuele, the EU Enlargement Commissioner, to Bosnia in April, hinting at the hope that a solution could be reached by then.
In Sarajevo, Sannino also met the international community’s top official in Bosnia, the High Representative, Valentin Inzko, for an exchange of views on the current situation.
