Croatian MEP Tonino Picula said that it was necessary to "guarantee a more fair status" for Bosnian Croats, in order to "stabilize the situation in the country," state news agency Hina said on Tuesday, without clarifying.

He also “welcomed the international high representative’s intervention” in Bosnia’s election rules, Hina reported.

The status of Bosnian Croats in the Federation entity is “just a part of the outstanding problems the country must solve to ensure internal stability first and foremost,” Hina quoted Picula as saying, according to the Mostar-based website Bljesak.

“A more fair position of Bosnian Croats in the Federation is key for all of Bosnia, as its restores vitality to the initial premise – one country, two entities, three constituent peoples,” Picula added.

Picula went on to say that High Representative Christian Schmidt’s decisions to change Bosnia’s election law and Constitution promoted political pluralism. “But it’s still not the final reform of the election law and constitutional law, which is still necessary.”

He added that he saw “nothing contentious” in “the request that Croatia be made part of the Althea peacekeeping mission in Bosnia,” Hina said, and explained that the proposal is “being contested by Bosnia’s Presidency ethnic Croat member, Zeljko Komsic.”