Željko Komšić

Ahead of the formation of new governments in Bosnia after the October 7 elections, Milorad Dodik, leader of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, SNSD, and Dragan Covic, the head of Bosnia's Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, on Monday confirmed a coalition agreement after a meeting in East Sarajevo.

The newly-elected Croat member of Bosnia and Herzegovina's tripartite state presidency, Zeljko Komsic, claimed in an open letter to EU officials on Tuesday that Croatia is involved in "diplomatic aggression" against his country.

They wrote about the outcome of the recent general elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina, expressing deep concern over the fact that the Croat representative (Zeljko Komsic) in the BiH Presidency were elected by Bosniaks (Muslims), while the vast majority of Croats voted for another candidate.

The hard-line leader of the Bosnian Serbs, Milorad Dodik, has won the Serbian seat on Bosnia's tripartite state presidency, according to still incomplete results from Sunday's elections.

After Dragan Covic, the Croat member of Bosnia's tripartite Presidency, announced that Bosnia's Croatian-majority cantons will open a joint representative office in Brussels, critics called the move a step towards the destabilisation, and even the collapse, of the Bosnian state.

Politicians in Bosnia and Herzegovina have already started announcing who will run for posts on the country's three-member presidency in elections not due until October.

They have done so despite the risk that the elections might be postponed, owing to problems with reform of the electoral process.

Bakir Izetbegovic of the Party of Democratic Action, SDA, and Zeljko Komsic of the Democratic Front, DF, on Tuesday said the crisis in the government of Bosnia's mainly Bosniak and Croat Federation entity had been resolved.

The two politicians said that problems over opposing views among coalition partners on the replacement of managers in key public companies had been overcome.

Bosnia's ruling coalition has effectively collapsed after the three main parties in the Federation failed to agree on the makeup of the entity's new government on Sunday. 

This development puts in question the recent agreement on the formation of the new state government, and threatens to push the country deeper into political chaos five months after the elections. 

Tough negotiating positions and maximalist demands by the leaders of the three strongest parties in Bosnia's Federation entity have scuppered the latest attempt to establish a new entity government. Party leaders pledged to reconvene negotiations at the end of the week.

Leaders of the six parties in the ruling coalition at state level in Bosnia have reported progress in talks on establishing a new Council of Ministers - in effect a state government.