Party Leaders Pledge to Build Stable, EU-Oriented Bosnia

The Serbian member of Bosnia's tripartite presidency, Milorad Dodik, on Monday said that Bosnian Serbs will respect Sunday's agreement signed in Brussels on building a peaceful and stable Bosnia. Although the agreement is not signed or legally binding, "it will be respected on the political and moral level", he said.

Dodik referenced the agreement of leaders of political parties making up the Bosnian parliament "to preserve and build a peaceful, stable, sovereign and independent functioning European state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, established in accordance with the general peace agreement".

The meeting was hosted on Sunday in Brussels by European Council President Charles Michel, together with the EU Foreign Affairs and Security chief Josep Borrell.

The document supposed to ensure the "respect for the rule of law and the conduct of free and democratic elections, as well as the development of democratic institutions at all levels of government" was signed by all the participants.

However, although Dragan Covic, leader of the main Bosnian Croat party, the Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, came to Brussels, he did participate at the meeting owing to the presence of the Croat member of the state presidency, Zeljko Komsic.

Covic does not recognize Komsic as a legitimate representative of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina and said that he will not participate in this meeting "because of the presence of two Bosniak members of the presidency", referencing his claim that Komsic was effectively elected to the presidency by mainly Bosniak votes.

To achieve these goals, the document says, participants agreed to strengthen trust, dialogue, build compromises and work for peace and mutual respect among all peoples and citizens of Bosnia.<...