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Bosnian PM to resign if EU-backed reforms fail

31 March 2008, 19:05 CET

(SARAJEVO) - Bosnian Prime Minister Nikola Spiric said Monday he would resign if parliament fails to adopt police reforms conditional for the country's integration into the European Union.

"My mandate would be offered to the parliament if the laws are not adopted," Spiric told AFP.

"The chance is not lost, but there is a threat that Bosnia-Hercegovina could lose another year because politicians continue quarrelling," he added.

The two police reform laws, to be discussed in parliament on Wednesday, are the last EU-set hurdle for Bosnia to sign a key pact on closer ties with the 27-nation bloc, as expected, in April.

However, one of Bosnia's two main Muslim parties has rejected the bills in previous debates, saying they were insufficient to reform the country's separate police forces.

In December last year, EU and Bosnian officials initialled the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) -- essentially a trade and aid pact which is the first step towards joining the rich European club.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said last month that Brussels expected to sign the SAA with Bosnia in April, pending the implementation of the police reforms.

The leaders of Bosnia's Serb community insist on retaining control of police in their Republika Srpska entity, which along with the Muslim-Croat Federation have made up Bosnia since its 1992-1995 war.

But Croat and Muslim leaders want the forces to be unified and put under the authority of the state.

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