In Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH),
confirmation appears to have arrived that a representative of
the Serbian component will lead the EU accession negotiations,
as announced in recent days by Bosnian Serb leader Milorad
Dodik. According to reports in Sarajevo, an agreement to that
effect was reached in recent days at a meeting between political
leaders of the Balkan country's three ethnic components: Muslim
Bosniacs, Orthodox Serbs, and Catholic Croats. And there would
be two favorites for the post of chief negotiator with Brussels:
Ana Trisic-Babic and Zeljko Avramovic, both advisers to Dodik,
who is president of Republika Srpska (Rs), the Serb-majority
entity of BiH. Trisic-Babic was formerly deputy foreign
minister for a long time, later landing in Dodik's cabinet as
foreign policy adviser. She previously worked as a journalist
for Radio Free Europe and at Usaid, a U.S. organization active
in projects supporting development and humanitarian assistance.
Avramovic also worked as a journalist in Serbia, where during
the regime of Slobodan Milosevic he was editor of a news and
political program for Serbian radio and television. A few years
ago Avramovic moved to Bosnia where he was an adviser to several
Rs politicians, most recently Milorad Dodik. Last March from
the EU came the green light to open accession negotiations with
Bosnia, but when the criteria are met. This point refers to
delays and difficulties in the reform process-particularly on
rule of law and anti-corruption-because of persistent
disagreements between representatives of the three ethnic
components.
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