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SARAJEVO, March 20 (FENA) - Director of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Angelina Eichhorst said that the failed negotiations on the Election Law held in the EU Delegation building over the past four days represent a loss and a missed opportunity for domestic leaders.
Eichhorst, who was an international mediator with the US Ambassador to BiH Michael Murphy, pointed out that all possibilities of foreign mediators have been used and that everything is currently up to domestic officials.
She emphasized that the negotiations concerned the integrity of the election process, changes to the BiH Constitution, the election model for two members of the BiH Presidency from the Federation of BiH, and that there were some steps forward in the functioning of FBiH.
She claims that the leaders agreed on a mechanism that would prevent blockades of appointing the FBiH Government or appointing judges of the BiH Constitutional Court, and that the issue of the competence of the House of Peoples remained controversial due to disagreements between SDA and HDZ.
“With such events on European soil and the geopolitical scene, this was a real opportunity to express readiness to reach a consensus. An agreement on these issues would bring BiH closer to the EU,” she emphasized.
However, Eichhorst claims that a significant step has been taken in discussing the functionality of the Federation of BiH for the first time since Dayton.
She pointed out that all parliamentary parties were invited, and that it is not true that some did not receive an invitation. She believes that the part about the integrity of the election process should definitely be sent to the parliamentary procedure.
“It is crucial that elections are held, because citizens have the right to go to the polls, and that is a constitutional category that the EU will continue to insist on,” she said.
US Ambassador to BiH Michael Murphy claims that refusing to improve the functioning of the Federation of BiH made the agreement impossible and that the functioning of the Federation of BiH is key to fulfilling the rights of citizens who must have confidence that their votes matter and can live without discrimination.
He stated that achieving all the elements of one package would mean a step forward and expressed regret that BiH leaders did not use the opportunity for a historic victory.
He claims that no party would get 100 percent of what they asked for, but 70 percent, and that the citizens would get hope for a better future.
(FENA) A. B.
