The key countries in charge of electing a new high representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina are divided over the candidate and the scope of authority that the position should carry, sources familiar with the negotiations said.
The United States and Italy are advocating the appointment of Antonio Zanardi Landi, an experienced Italian diplomat who has served in Moscow and the Vatican, as the successor to German Christian Schmidt, who resigned last month.
Washington, with opposition from France and others, is seeking to reduce the powers of the high representative’s office, which traditionally has broad powers, writes Bloomberg.
The talks are complex and could take some time, the sources said, adding that the countries could reach for an interim solution if no agreement is reached on Thursday, when the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) is due to make a decision.
The PIC brings together, among others, Canada, Great Britain and the European Union.
The French official said that the discussions about the new envoy are normal, stressing that there are no tensions between Paris and Rome and that both countries share the same position on the mandate of the representative. The Italian government did not comment, while the American embassy in Sarajevo referred questions to the State Department.
During his mandate, Schmidt often used the Bonn powers, including the imposition of electoral reforms, and on several occasions clashed with the former president of the Republika Srpska entity, Milorad Dodik.
In an interview with a German newspaper last month, he said that he was under enormous and surprising pressure from the US, among other things because of the US Southern Interconnection project.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, a country with 3.2 million inhabitants, faces political and ethnic divisions that make it difficult for the central government to function, Bloomberg reminds us.
Disagreements between Washington, Rome, Paris and other countries highlight the complexity of Balkan politics at a time of transatlantic tensions.
European leaders are meeting on Friday in Montenegro at the EU-Western Balkans summit.
