Bosnia welcomes signing of pre-accession pact with EU

BOSNIA:BOSNIAN AND European Union officials hailed the Balkan state's signing of a pre-accession pact yesterday as a major milestone in its journey from the 1992-1995 war towards ultimate membership of the 27-member bloc.

"It is a great pleasure and honour to be able to sign the Stabilisation and Association Agreement.

"It is a very important day and I want to share my happiness," Bosnian prime minister Nikola Spiric said at a ceremony in Luxembourg.

"This is a very happy day for all member states," added the EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana.

Brussels refused to sign the deal with Bosnia until leaders of its Serb-run republic and its Muslim-Croat region agreed to overhaul police forces that are still divided along ethnic lines 13 years after the end of the country's devastating war. A police reform deal was finally agreed in April, but critics said the reform package had been watered down so far as to be merely cosmetic.

The deal provides for the creation of several federal oversight bodies to control and co-ordinate nationwide police work, but they will not interfere with regional police operations, and the forces in Republika Srpska and the Muslim-Croat federation will not be merged.

The reforms will also be put on hold until after agreement on a new constitution, which is potentially another major bone of contention between Bosnia's ethnic groups, with Serbs fearful that any change to their police force will be the first step towards the dissolution of Republika Srpska.

The international high representative in Bosnia, Miroslav Lajcak, struck a positive note yesterday, however. "This is an important day for Bosnia-Herzegovina, a real milestone . . . It's certainly a day to remember the same country only 13 years back and also a day to celebrate," he said.

"The European Union has just offered Bosnia its European perspective. We have entered the process but it's up to Bosnia-Herzegovina how long the process will take and when Bosnia-Herzegovina will be rewarded with membership in the European Union," he added.