Although it has been expected in recent days that a new High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina could be elected, a final decision has not yet been made. The Office of the High Representative (OHR) confirmed to BHRT that there will be no session of the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC), but only a regular meeting of the ambassadors of the member states. This continues diplomatic consultations, while an agreement on the successor to Christian Schmidt has still not been reached.
The issue of electing a new High Representative has reopened the debate on the role of the international community in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The prevailing view in the political leadership of the Federation of BiH is that the OHR should have completed its mandate long ago, but that the current political circumstances still do not allow for its closure.
The Prime Minister of the Federation of BiH, Nermin Nikšić, briefly stated that work is still underway to harmonize positions.
“We have received information that everything is still being harmonized. We will see, we have also had certain meetings with the current High Representative of the European Commission, so we will see how the situation develops,” said Nikšić.
The President of the Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Semir Efendić, believes that the delay is a consequence of the request of some European countries for additional time.
“I assume that certain members of the European Union wanted to get a little more time before the election of a new high representative. I had such information before the last session of the PIC. As far as I know now, things have mostly been agreed,” said Efendić.
At the last meeting of the Peace Implementation Council, no agreement was reached on the selection of Christian Schmidt’s successor, after which diplomatic consultations continued. According to information circulating in political and diplomatic circles, differences between key international actors still exist, and particular attention was drawn to allegations of the strong influence of the American administration on the entire process.
Representative in the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mario Karamatić, believes that the new high representative will be appointed soon.
“I expect that a new high representative will be appointed and that it will be a gentleman from Italy because the Americans said so,” Karamatić said.
The delegate in the House of Peoples of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ivo Tadić, thinks similarly.
“The American administration is actively involved here and I think they will be the ones to decide. They will decide who the High Representative will be, but also what powers he will have in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Tadić.
The well-known positions are once again coming from Republika Srpska that the High Representative cannot have powers that go beyond the framework of the Dayton Peace Agreement. Republika Srpska President Siniša Karan said that the PIC has no basis in the Dayton Agreement.
“The PIC is not a Dayton body. It is an ad hoc political body and represents a manifestation of the power of those who believe they can violate international law,” said Karan.
Political analysts believe that there is currently no complete agreement between the United States and the European Union and that the issue of the new High Representative goes beyond Bosnia and Herzegovina itself.
Journalist Aleksandar Trifunović assessed that Washington is strongly advocating the Italian candidate.
“It is more than clear that the Americans insist on a candidate that suits them, and that is an Italian diplomat. It is equally clear that, if it does not go as the Americans want, there will be no Office of the High Representative in its current form,” said Trifunović.
He added that the US wants to maintain influence over the OHR primarily because of energy projects, especially the Southern Interconnection, while the European Union is trying to secure a leading role because it is an area that it considers its immediate neighborhood.
The OHR confirmed to BHRT that there will not be an extraordinary session of the Peace Implementation Council, but a regular meeting of ambassadors of member states. According to information from diplomatic circles, among the candidates for the new High Representative are Italian diplomat Antonio Zanardi Landi, French envoy René Troccaz, and American official William Ruger.
