At the start of next month, more precisely on June third and fourth, a session of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) will be held, where the new High Representative will be elected.
The Italian Antonio Zanardi Landi has already received the support of Rome and Washington. But, the EU countries such as France, Germany, including Great Britain will have their say on the ultimate decision.
If some EU Member States, along with Great Britain, insist on another candidate, the decision on the new High Representative could be prolonged, although it was announced that everything will be completed in the first week of June.
In any case, it means that Christian Schmidt, who resigned, is bringing his tenure to a close. After the arrival of the new High Representative, the international community will enter a new stage in its approach towards Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In that new stage, as the US Ambassador to the UN, Tammy Bruce, has already announced, the main role and responsibility will be assumed by local politicians, while the Bonn Powers, or imposing decisions and laws, will be a thing of the past.
The US Ambassador clearly emphasized that one day there will no longer be a need for the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In order to achieve that, the next High Representative must gain the trust of all communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina and must be devoted to a sovereign Bosnia and Herzegovina in which local leaders make decisions and pragmatic solutions, which won’t be dictated by international voices, but rather facilitated by them.
Therefore, Landi or someone else will face a difficult task. Although neither the international community nor Bosnian and Herzegovinian politicians will expect him to strong-arm leaders or force solutions, he will need great diplomatic wisdom to make the local politicians meet the required “5+2 Agenda.” This would mean the closure of the Office of the High Representative and the final stage of international intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He also has to resolve the issue of all issues, the issue of state property.
Landi, over the course of his diplomatic career, was an Ambassador to Serbia and Russia, and he worked as an advisor to the Italian President, Klix.ba writes.
