The new session of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC), focusing on discussing the appointment of the High Representative, is scheduled for June 30.
According to unofficial information, talks are being led at the highest level, and if the EU and the US manage to reach a compromise, tomorrow will be significant.
Otherwise, the US could re-evaluate its funding for the OHR, even though this has so far been a so-called bluffing tactic in negotiations between the great powers.
Recently, a meeting was held at the ambassadorial level, but no progress was made on this topic at the time.
The US State Department previously said that Christian Schmidt’s departure as the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina is expected in June, adding that his successor should assume office by the end of the month.
In a statement to Fena, the State Department said that the public expected a new High Representative to be elected at the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) meeting held in early June, with the aim of ensuring the stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“The US Delegation wanted to reach a consensus on a joint vision and an Italian candidate with adequate qualifications. The US highlighted the EU partners’ failure to reach a consensus on the European candidate and expressed disappointment that the divisions prevented PIC from fulfilling its task – the appointment of the new High Representative,” they emphasized.
As is already known, the US administration’s top candidate for the position of the High Representative is an Italian diplomat, Antonio Zanardi Landi.
On the other hand, European countries, primarily France and Great Britain, envision Ren Troccaz in this position.
Troccaz is a French diplomat currently serving as the Special Envoy for the Western Balkans to the French Government. This 67-year-old career diplomat has a distinguished career behind him.
The election of a new High Representative this time represents much more than the appointment of a specific official to this position. Due to current relations between the European Union and the US, the choice of the High Representative has turned into a diplomatic battlefield between Brussels and Washington, and there is much talk about the very future of this role.
On one side, some believe the High Representative should retain the same tools as before; however, Washington is taking a different tack, with the US administration leaning toward restricting the mandate and reducing intervention in domestic politics, Klix.ba writes.
