The European Parliament adopted a resolution based on the own-initiative report drafted by Doris PACK (EPP-ED, DE) containing a proposal for a recommendation to the Council on Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH). It noted with concern that the winners of the parliamentary and presidential elections, who were formerly moderate parties, resorted during the campaign to confrontational and divisive language. It reminded BiH's political leaders of the urgent and important reforms they need to undertake, notably with regard to the State's Constitution, the judiciary, public administration, the business environment, the educational sector, the phytosanitary and veterinary areas and the environmental field.

Parliament urged the Council to exert pressure on the relevant authorities in BiH to take all necessary steps to implement the recently submitted draft plan for the implementation of the BiH police structure reform, and to remind all parties that the police reform is a key prerequisite for the conclusion of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement. The legal provisions for achieving a police structure which matches the ethnic composition of the population in BiH should be accompanied by an effective monitoring mechanism.

Parliament welcomed the fact that the Bosnian governments and police forces had, in general, cooperated with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), but condemned the failure to arrest all the war criminals still at large on the country’s territory and the fact that documents potentially of use to the investigations had in many cases disappeared. It called on the political leadership of BiH to continue in its efforts to cooperate fully with the ICTY and to dismantle networks supporting indicted war criminals. It welcomed the decision of the authorities of the Republika Srpska to establish a special body with the task of improving its cooperation with the ICTY with a view to implementing the ad hoc action plan, and expected concrete results in the near future with regard to the capture of the main fugitives.

Parliament went on to call for a re-launching of the constitutional debate involving an in-depth review of the Entity veto mechanism, which should apply only to issues falling under the shared responsibility of the State and the Entities. It also called for a narrow interpretation of the concept of 'vital national interests' so as to prevent any ethnically motivated misuse of the related veto instrument for purely obstructionist purposes. Parliament was concerned by the persisting ethnic barriers in BiH, which hampered the development of a national identity, and felt that the constitutional arrangements in the Dayton Agreement made it more difficult to remove such barriers. The EU experience is that a common identity is fully compatible with respect for the cultural and religious traditions of the constituent peoples. Parliament considered that increasing attention should be paid to dealing with the burden of the past, including the issue of persons who went missing during the bloody conflict, and promoting an inclusive, non-discriminatory education system in BiH, based on tolerance and respect for diversity. In practice, this meant an end to the segregation of different ethnic groups schooled under the same roof, a debate on the creation of a common curriculum for those in compulsory schooling, paying special attention to the way in which history is taught, and improved continuing training for teachers.

Parliament called on the Commission to devolve sufficient funds, under the new Pre-Accession Instrument, to both of the above-mentioned objectives, not least by providing support to the International Commission on Missing Persons, and urged the Council, via its EU Special Representative, to promote initiatives in this area. It felt that the current education system could represent a serious threat to the security of the country. Parliament also felt that it would be in the interests of the citizens of BiH if a national truth and reconciliation commission were established for the country, which should examine and report on the abuses suffered in the past as well as developing recommendations for steps to be taken to deal with this painful legacy and to prevent the recurrence of any such inhumanity.

Parliament reminded BiH politicians that the international community would not tolerate any measure or policy undermining the multi-ethnic character, the territorial integrity, the stability and the unity of BiH and of its entities. It called on the High Representative for Bosnia-Herzegovina to remain particularly vigilant in this respect and to be more robust in promoting the re-integration of refugees and displaced people throughout the territory of BiH, and, in particular, in the Republika Srpska, which had a disappointing record as regards returns of refugees and displaced persons.

Lastly, Parliament commended the work carried out by the incumbent EU High Representative/Special Representative and said that, when the Office of the High Representative eventually closes down, the EU must provide strong and coordinated support to help BiH to achieve its long-term aim of European integration as quickly and thoroughly as possible.

The Council held an exchange of views on the Commission’s Progress Reports on the Western Balkans. On this occasion discussions focussed on Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Council welcomed the formation of the new Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina and encouraged the new authorities to ensure a swift and effective implementation of all four conditions needed for the conclusion of negotiations for the Stabilisation and Association Agreement.

The Council also urged the new authorities to use the current momentum to bring forward police reforms. The Council took note that the Political and Security Committee has approved the revised OPLAN for Operation ALTHEA, enabling the progressive but reversible reconfiguration of EUFOR to go ahead, whilst taking account of the country’s security situation.

As part of its overall engagement in BiH, the EU will retain a military presence in the country in order to continue contributing to the maintenance of a safe and secure environment. EUFOR will retain some 2 500 troops on the ground, backed up by an over-the-horizon reserve forces, ready to respond to possible security challenges throughout the country.

The committee adopted the own-initiative report by Doris PACK ( EPP-ED , DE ) containing a proposal for a recommendation to the Council on Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH). The report noted with concern that the winners of the parliamentary and presidential elections, which were formerly moderate parties, "are increasingly resorting to radical and nationalistic language, once the prerogative of extremist political groupings". The committee urged the Council to exert pressure on the relevant authorities in BiH, and in particular on the Government of Republika Srpska, to endorse the recently submitted draft plan for police structure reform and to remind all parties that the police reform is a key prerequisite for the conclusion of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU.

The report called on the political leadership of BiH to continue in its efforts to cooperate fully with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and to dismantle networks supporting indicted war criminals. It welcomed the decision of the authorities of the Republika Srpska to establish a special body with the task of improving its cooperation with the ICTY with a view to implementing the ad hoc action plan. MEPs added that they expected "concrete results in the near future with regard to the capture of the main fugitives".

The committee also expressed concern at the persisting ethnic barriers in BiH, which were hampering the development of a national identity, and said that the constitutional arrangements in the Dayton Agreement made it more difficult to remove such barriers. It noted that "the EU experience is that a common identity is fully compatible with respect for the cultural and religious traditions of the constituent peoples". The committee therefore felt that, in the context of EU assistance (which, after the reconstruction phase, had focused on facilitating the adoption of EU standards and laws), increasing attention should be paid to dealing with the burden of the past, including the issue of persons who went missing during the bloody conflict, and promoting an inclusive, non-discriminatory education system in BiH, based on tolerance and respect for diversity.

The report called on the Commission to devolve sufficient funds, under the new Pre-Accession Instrument, to both of these objectives, not least by providing support to the International Commission on Missing Persons, and it urged the Council, via its EU Special Representative, to promote initiatives in this area. It stressed that the current education system could represent a "serious threat" to the security of the country.

Lastly, the committee said that, when the Office of the High Representative eventually closes down, the EU must provide strong and coordinated support to help BiH to achieve its long-term aim of European integration as quickly and thoroughly as possible.

The Council held a policy debate on the Western Balkans in which the situation in Bosnia Herzegovina was discussed. It welcomed progress in the region and reaffirmed the EU’s fair and rigorous conditionality policy as set out in the Stabilisation and Association Process as well as the Thessaloniki Agenda.

In this context, the Council also recalled the relevant parts of the European Council conclusions of December 2005 and June 2006, including full co-operation with the ICTY. To support progress the Council called for a swift and effective implementation of the priorities identified in the European Partnerships, which will continue to play a key role in guiding closer union with the Community.

As far as Bosnia and Herzegovina specifically are concerned, while noting progress made on the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, the Council regretted that a number of important issues remain to be tackled by Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Council recalled that Bosnia and Herzegovina’s performance in all of the areas set out in the General Affairs and External Relations Council will be jointly reviewed by the Council and the Commissions before negotiations can be concluded. The Council called upon all parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina to work together, as soon as possible, in order to overcome any remaining obstacles.

In a proposal for a recommendation (tabled pursuant to Rule 114(1) of the European Parliament's Rules of Procedure) by Doris PACK (EPP-DE) on behalf of the PPE-DE Group, a series of recommendations to the Council concerning Bosnia and Herzegovina are made.

In its first part, the proposal for a recommendation returns to the agreement reached by the constituent entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina in October 2006 to restructure the police forces and recalls that the representatives of the two entities had agreed that the proposed police force reform would envisage the transfer to state level of all budgetary competencies, the elimination of all political interference in the operation of such forces and the delimitation of territorial units along purely functional lines.

The proposal for a recommendation recalls that the agreement foresaw the setting up of a directorate for the implementation of police force restructuring, with representatives from all levels of authority (state, entity and cantons), whose task would be to submit a proposal for the implementation of the reform, including the demarcation of the new territorial units in 30 September 2006. However, the directorate failed to respect this deadline given that the representatives of the Republika Srpska refused to cooperate further on this issue.

The proposal for a recommendation also recalls that the representatives of the Republika Srpska called for an independence referendum, should the negotiations on the future status of Kosovo result in a legal and territorial separation from Serbia. This confirms, furthermore, the persistence of strong ethnic divisions within Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In this context, the proposal for a recommendation calls on the Council:

§ through the good offices of the EU Special Representative, to relaunch the talks on much-needed constitutional reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina;

to exert pressure on the Government of the Republika Srpska to recommit to the work of the directorate for police reform implementation and to remind all parties that police force restructuring is a key prerequisite for the conclusion of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with this country.

In a proposal for a recommendation (tabled pursuant to Rule 114(1) of the European Parliament's Rules of Procedure) by Doris PACK (EPP-DE) on behalf of the PPE-DE Group, a series of recommendations to the Council concerning Bosnia and Herzegovina are made.

In its first part, the proposal for a recommendation returns to the agreement reached by the constituent entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina in October 2006 to restructure the police forces and recalls that the representatives of the two entities had agreed that the proposed police force reform would envisage the transfer to state level of all budgetary competencies, the elimination of all political interference in the operation of such forces and the delimitation of territorial units along purely functional lines.

The proposal for a recommendation recalls that the agreement foresaw the setting up of a directorate for the implementation of police force restructuring, with representatives from all levels of authority (state, entity and cantons), whose task would be to submit a proposal for the implementation of the reform, including the demarcation of the new territorial units in 30 September 2006. However, the directorate failed to respect this deadline given that the representatives of the Republika Srpska refused to cooperate further on this issue.

The proposal for a recommendation also recalls that the representatives of the Republika Srpska called for an independence referendum, should the negotiations on the future status of Kosovo result in a legal and territorial separation from Serbia. This confirms, furthermore, the persistence of strong ethnic divisions within Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In this context, the proposal for a recommendation calls on the Council:

§ through the good offices of the EU Special Representative, to relaunch the talks on much-needed constitutional reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina;

to exert pressure on the Government of the Republika Srpska to recommit to the work of the directorate for police reform implementation and to remind all parties that police force restructuring is a key prerequisite for the conclusion of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with this country.