EU, US continue tough Bosnia talks

(SARAJEVO) - Senior EU and US officials Tuesday launched a second round of talks with Bosnian leaders on how to reform the country's constitution and unblock its worst political stalemate since the 1992-1995 war.

Bosnian Croat, Muslim and Serb leaders were taking part in the meeting at the military base of the European Union Force (EUFOR) in Sarajevo, an AFP photographer reported.

It is chaired by Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, whose country holds the EU presidency until the end of the year, and US Deputy Secretary of State Jim Steinberg.

The first gathering, in Sarajevo on October 9, ended without a deal.

On Monday, the leaders were offered a proposal containing draft constitutional changes aimed at strengthening the central parliament and the government. However, Bosnian Serbs promptly rejected the proposal.

"It cannot be a basis for talks since it does not contain a necessary compromise," Bosnian Serb Prime Minister Milorad Dodik told Croatian national television late Monday.

He blamed the international community for favouring Bosnia's Muslims.

Bosnian Croats have also said proposed changes were not favourable for their community and Muslims have labelled them as insufficient.

Local media reported that constitutional modifications included the creation of a more streamlined parliament to prepare the country for EU membership.

The modifications envisage more than doubling the number of seats in the parliament's lower house from the current 42 to 87. The upper house would also grow from the current 15 to a 21-seat body.

The role of the central government and its prime minister would be strengthened, while the rotating presidency would consist of a president and two vice-presidents elected by the parliament instead of through a direct vote as is the case now.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn Rehn, also taking part in the talks, told reporters on the eve of the meeting it was "absolutely essential and crucial to achieve concrete results".

He underlined that a political agreement would enable Bosnia to become "a credible applicant" for EU membership.

Almost 14 years after the end of Bosnia's inter-ethnic war, that claimed some 100,000 lives, the country remains riven by tensions between its Croats, Muslims and Serbs.

The dispute underlines deep divisions over how to organise the country, with Serbs insisting on retaining autonomy while Muslims and Croats favour stronger central institutions.

Since the 1992-1995 war Bosnia consists of two semi-independent entities -- the Serbs' Republika Srpska and the Muslim-Croat Federation -- linked by weak central institutions.