Bosnia urged to ensure balanced representation of constituent people
by michaletos •
A draft resolution on Bosnia and Herzegovina, which will be on the agenda of the European Parliament next week, calls on leaders in that country to ensure the implementation of the Sejdic-Finci ruling from the European Court for Human Rights and to consider a possibility of merger of cantons in the Croat-Bosniak Federation with a view of simplifying the structure and ensuring a more balanced representation of constituent people and citizens.
The document drafted by German MEP Doris Pack which has also included several amendments, some of which proposed by seven Croatian deputies to the European Parliament, will be discussed by MEPs on Wednesday during a plenary session in Strasbourg and is to be endorsed on Thursday.The draft resolution underlines “constitutional reform remains key to transforming BiH into an effective and fully functional state.”It also urges the Federation “to consider concrete proposals in this regard, including the merger of some cantons and the redistribution of competences, in order to simplify its complex institutional structure, ensure a more balanced representation of all constituent people and citizens, eliminate ethnic discrimination and make the state more functional, less expensive and more accountable to its citizens.”In the same vein, all political parties are invited “to take part in this process in a constructive and open manner and to make use of the advice and guidance that the Venice Commission can provide during this process.
”The draft welcomes “the six-point agreement reached in Brussels on 1 October 2013, but deplores the obstruction of its implementation by centralist forces; stresses the importance of following the principles of federalism and legitimate representation in order to ensure BiH’s path.”Urging the European Commission to treat Bosnia and Herzegovina’s integration into the EU as a top priority, the document says that the European Union is committed to sovereign and united Bosnia and Herzegovina and its EU membership prospects.
The draft also “calls for a shift away from the nationalist and ethnocentric rhetoric coming from the leadership of the three constitutive peoples in BiH” and it condemns all kinds of segregation and discrimination on religious or ethnic grounds in a country.Bosnia is called “to further cooperate with the Commission regarding the adaptation of the Interim Agreement / Stabilisation and Association Agreement, especially in terms of crossborder trade in order to ensure that traditional trade flows between EU Member States and Central European Free Trade Agreement partners will continue.”Sarajevo keeps rejecting negotiations on traditional volume of trade regarding Croatia after the latter joined the EU and automatically departed from the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA).
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