There are no negotiations in the European Union (EU) or requests from Europe to shut down the Office of the High Representative (OHR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), said on June 20th the high representative of the international community in BiH, Christian Schmidt, at a press conference in Sarajevo.
When asked by a journalist whether there are such requests and from which countries they come, Schmidt replied that he was aware that the media reported that France was asking for the closure of the OHR, but that this was not true.
“I was personally in Paris recently in the office for foreign relations, with other European countries. The fact that I was invited there, like the others, is a sign that there are no such discussions. The only discussion we have is how to speed up Bosnia’s progress together and Herzegovina toward membership in the EU,” said Schmidt.
He added that it is planned that the next phase of the talks will be held in Berlin and that it will be based on the document prepared by the OHR, he said.
“All the member countries of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) have expressed their full support for the work of the OHR”, concluded Schmidt at the end, explaining that the OHR remains in BiH in the same capacity.
The PIC is an international body that provides political guidance to the OHR in BiH. The board of directors of the PIC consists of ambassadors of Western countries, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and previously Russia, which no longer participates in the work.
Radio Free Europe (RSE) previously reported on the meeting, which was held in Paris at the end of May, where they allegedly discussed the future of the OHR in BiH, its transformation, and the reduction of the powers of the head of this office, Christian Schmidt.
Namely, the presence of an international supervisor with broad political and legislative powers is incompatible with the admission of BiH as a full member of the EU.
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs also presented a so-called non-paper, in which it is stated that the powers of the OHR should be reduced and the so-called Bonn powers limited only to the “functionality of the institutions” of BiH, in coordination with the EU Delegation in Sarajevo.
