Plenković confident that a new High Representative for BiH will be appointed

On Thursday US and European officials failed to agree on a new High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) after two days of meetings. The outgoing high representative cited 'huge and unexpected' pressure from Washington as among the reasons for his decision to step down.

The outgoing High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, has confirmed that the US and EU had failed to agree on his successor to the post. Established as part of the 1995 Dayton Agreement that brought an end to the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the high representative oversees the civilian implementation of the accords and enjoys sweeping powers in the country.

While attending the EU-Western Balkans summit in Montenegro, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković was asked to comment on the failed attempt to appoint someone to succeed Schmidt: "As far as I can tell there is the option of an Italian candidate, or possibly a French or American candidate. These discussion will be had. What is clear right now is that someone will succeed Schmidt. That is quite certain. As to who that will be, we'll have to wait a little longer. The important thing is that the Bonn Powers are not used in a way that is excessive or leads to an imbalance in what was originally agreed upon, because some of these problems date from twenty or more years ago, and they have put Croats in a weaker position than foreseen in the constitution itself and what was agreed upon in Dayton. However, I think that ultimately a solution will be found."

Source: HRT