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Envoy urges Bosnia reform push ahead of EU-Balkans meeting

13 May 2010, 21:50 CET
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(SARAJEVO) - The top international envoy to Bosnia on Tuesday urged the country's leaders to intensify reforms, announcing a meeting of EU and Balkan officials in Sarajevo early next month.

"Opinion polls indicate that an overwhelming majority of Bosnia-Hercegovina citizens, including citizens of (Bosnian Serb entity of) Republika Srpska, want their country to join the European Union," Valentin Inzko said in statement.

The statement was issued after Inzko's meeting with Bosnian Serb Prime Minister Milorad Dodik in the northern town of Banja Luka.

"It is therefore the duty of all, and first and foremost of domestic leaders, to do all in their power to achieve that goal," the Austrian diplomat said.

Inzko also announced that a conference of EU and Balkan officials will be held on June 2 in Sarajevo.

The meeting should be "another signal of the EU's commitment to the region," he said.

Of the six former Yugoslav republics -- Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia -- only the latter has joined the EU.

Among the five others Croatia has made the biggest progress on the path towards the 27-nation bloc, with Zagreb hoping to join by 2012.

Due to failure of its leaders to adopt reforms sought by Brussels, ethnically-divided Bosnia is lagging behind Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.

In late 2009, the EU member states announced the decision to lift visa requirements for nationals of the three countries.

Sarajevo hopes that the same measure will be announced for its citizens at the June 2 meeting.

Since the 1992-1995 war Bosnia consists of two semi-autonomous entities -- the Serbs' Republika Srpska and the Muslim-Croat Federation. Each has its own government.


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