International meeting on Bosnia

The steering group for the Peace Implementation Council for Bosnia and Herzegovina is meeting in Stockholm today with the Swedish EU Presidency as host. The High Representative in Bosnia, Wolfgang Petritsch, is participating along with representatives of the EU Presidency, the EU Commission, France, Italy, Japan, Canada, Russia, United Kingdom, Turkey, Germany and the US - all of them members of the steering group. Representatives of the UN, OSCE and SFOR are also taking part.

At the meeting Wolfgang Petritsch will present his proposals for improving the effectiveness of the international presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In March Mr. Petritsch was urged by the EU Foreign Ministers to produce such proposals. The meeting will also deal with current political developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina: the problems in the Republika Srpska, OHR's take-over of Hercegovacka Banka and the efforts to persuade Bosnia and Herzegovina to adopt an efficient electoral law.

The Peace Implementation Council for Bosnia and Herzegovina, PIC, comprises 55 countries and organizations involved in the development of the country since the end of the war. The steering group, which is meeting in Stockholm today, was established in 1996. The steering group has the task of giving political guidance to the High Representative. The group meets on a weekly basis in Sarajevo and approximately six times a year at senior level under the leadership of the High Representative. Tradition dictates that the EU presiding country hosts one such meeting during the six months of its Presidency.

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• EU humanitarian aid to refugees in Serbia (21/2/2002)
• EU Presidency Statement - Bosnia and Herzegovina (12/9/2001)
• EU Presidency Statement - The situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina (22/3/2001)