EU Supports Washington-Led Deal for Bosnia

Peter Stano (Photo: YouTube)

We are deeply concerned about the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and have been helping very actively political leaders in the country to identify a solution, a spokesman for the European Commission, Peter Stano, said in a Nov. 6 reply to BETA's question if the European Union (EU) was behind Washington's proposal as to how to address the crisis in Bosnia, which the Deputy Assistant Secretary for overseeing policy on the countries of the Western Balkans, Gabrial Escobar, brought to Bosnia on Nov. 7.

Stano added that an official from the European Union External Action (EEAS), together with U.S. envoy Matthew Palmer met with political leaders in Sarajevo.

European diplomatic sources in Brussels have agreed that Washington was taking a strong initiative for Bosnia to focus on its controversial election law, and embrace "reforms that can be carried out, not to deepen ethnic divides, but rather to reach an agreement" between Serb, Bosniac and Croatian leaders, as suggested by Escobar.

Having placed "the unfinished job" in Bosnia in the context of the U.S.'s global strategy to curb the influence of China and Russia, he said in a speech and debate before the U.S. Congress that the U.S. "has sent a document on the possible reforms to the international community." Escobar underlined that the unilateral withdrawal of one side from Bosnia's central institutions could be dangerous, which was why the U.S. "is acting in unison with the EU and NATO."