Solana hails Bosnia agreement to pursue EU reforms: report

(BANJA LUKA) - European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana praised an agreement reached between Bosnia's main ethnic parties to pursue EU-backed reforms in an interview published Monday.

"The agreement reached on Saturday on the main issues for the European future of Bosnia is a step in the right direction," Solana was quoted as telling the Bosnian newspaper Glas Srpske.

"We now expect that such a political agreement is implemented with concrete actions in relevant institutions in order to enable the country to move towards" the European Union, he added.

Bosnia's three main ethnic parties representing the country's Croats, Muslims and Serbs agreed to pursue EU-required reforms on Saturday, three days after Brussels voiced concern rising nationalism could undermine stability.

The leaders of the three parties agreed in particular to reform the country's constitution and hold a census in 2011, as required by the 27-nation bloc.

Croat and Muslim deputies had earlier rejected a census that would include ethnic-related questions, as favoured by Serbs, stating it would enshrine results of wartime cleansing.

Bosnia's 1992-1995 war pitted its Croats, Muslims and Serbs against each other and claimed at least 100,000 lives.