There is still time for Bosnia's political leaders to come to an agreement on election reform, High Representative Valentin Inzko said after meeting with German MEP and member of the European People’s Party, Manfred Weber.

“There is still some time left to reach a solution that would be satisfactory for all sides. This should be based on dialogue and compromise, respecting the principles of the Constitution, as well as court decisions,” the High Representative said.

Two years ago the Constitutional Court ruled that some provisions of the Election Law were inconsistent with the state Constitution. Since then the authorities have failed to act in the legally allowed time-frame resulting in a further court ruling to delete two sections of the Election Law that treats the matter of representation in the House of Peoples in the Federation (FBiH), one of the two semi-autonomous entities in the country. Should the Law remain unchanged, the results of the upcoming election could be declared invalid.

Inzko also informed Weber of EU and US efforts to facilitate the talks between the political leaders. He highlighted some of the most important areas that need improvement in Bosnia so the country can move further on its path towards EU membership.

Bosnia and Herzegovina formally applied for the EU membership in February 2016 and was to provide the answers to the 3,242 questions of the European Commission’s Questionnaire within six months. However, it took the country a year to complete the process, because of its complex political structure and deep political and ethnic divisions.

In February this year, Bosnia’s senior officials handed over the answers to the Questionnaire to the EC President Jean-Paul Juncker and the country is now expecting to be granted a EU candidate status.

“The message from Europe is clear. BiH’s political leaders must do their utmost and with a sense of urgency, to maintain the momentum following the submission of the country’s answers to the EC Questionnaire.”  

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