The United States continues to insist on removing the ethnic prefixes in elections for the tripartite presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, US State Department envoy Matthew Palmer said on Tuesday.

The proposal is opposed by the Bosnian Croats and Serbs and the government in Zagreb.

The Croats claim that the idea, first presented by the US in late September, is contrary to the Dayton peace agreement and allows the more numerous Bosniaks to choose a Croat member of the tripartite state presidency.

Palmer insists that Bosnia and Herzegovina must do it to implement a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and progress towards European Union membership.

It is complicated, but it is possible to achieve a viable election model in accordance with the ECHR ruling and the mantra about one state, two entities, three constituent peoples plus others. That remains unchanged, Palmer told a press conference in Zagreb.

Palmer travels to Sarajevo on Wednesday for a new round of talks on electoral reform with the leaders of the strongest Bosniak and Croat parties, Bakir Izetbegovic (SDA) and Dragan Covic (HDZ BiH), and opposition leaders in the Bosniak-Croat Federation entity and the Serb entity of Republika Srpska.

He will suggest that they first deal with the election of presidency members and pertinent constitutional amendments, and then with the comprehensive electoral reform, including elections for the ethnic-based upper house of parliament.

In the election reform we must identify what is feasible and focus on that. I think both of the problems can be resolved. If that turns out to be difficult, the election model for the three-member presidency should be a priority, Palmer said.

He said that the US would strongly push for this plan, but without using a carrot-and-stick policy. There is no need for threats from the US and EU because there are already too many bad outcomes if the divisions get deeper and Bosnia and Herzegovina makes no progress on the EU path, he warned.

Palmer, who met with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic in Zagreb on Tuesday, said he understood the position of Zagreb which is defending the position of its ethnic kin in the neighboring country, but noted that the process would be much easier if there was consensus between the US, EU and Croatia on what is the right way for the Federation entity and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Palmer will visit Sarajevo together with EU diplomat Angelina Eichhorst, who recently reiterated the EU’s support for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and stressed the importance of reaching an agreement on the constitutional and electoral reform as soon as possible.