Bosnian parliament passes police bill

Bosnia's upper house of parliament gave final approval Wednesday to a bill that will reform the ethnically divided police forces, the AP said.

Izvor: AP

Wednesday, 16.04.2008.

21:21

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Bosnia's upper house of parliament gave final approval Wednesday to a bill that will reform the ethnically divided police forces, the AP said. Sarajevo hopes that this move will put the country back on the path toward EU membership. Bosnian parliament passes police bill The 15-member upper house approved the bill 10-4, making it law and ending four years of disagreement that was blocking Bosnia's EU membership bid. One member was absent from the vote. Last week, the 42-seat lower house approved the bill. Bosnia now hopes it will be able to sign a pre-membership agreement with the European Union in the coming weeks. EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn welcomed the final adoption of the police reform law and said "this will now open the door for further steps on the country's path toward the EU." Bosnia's international administrator, Slovak diplomat Miroslav Lajcak, said "the road is open" for Bosnia to sign the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU and that this sends a strong signal to both the EU and to investors that Bosnia "is open for business." The peace agreement that ended three and a half years of war in 1995 divided the country into a Serb Republic and a Bosniak-Croat Federation, each with its own police force. Since 1995, almost all ethnically divided government institutions have been merged, in addition to the army, in which Serbs, Muslim Bosniaks and Croats serve together. Initially, the EU said merging the police forces was essential, but Bosnian Serbs held out for years against giving up their separate police force, fearing it might lead to the loss of their separate territory within Bosnia. The EU eventually gave up on its demand to merge the forces and instead called on them to be more effective, financed from a joint budget and free from the influence of politicians. The EU will now review the details of the adopted bill to ensure it complies with the standards the bloc has set. The four lawmakers who voted against the bill Wednesday are Bosniaks who said they believed the law offers only "cosmetic" changes to the existing police structure, and the law was designed to satisfy the EU — not improve security in Bosnia.

Bosnian parliament passes police bill

The 15-member upper house approved the bill 10-4, making it law and ending four years of disagreement that was blocking Bosnia's EU membership bid. One member was absent from the vote. Last week, the 42-seat lower house approved the bill.

Bosnia now hopes it will be able to sign a pre-membership agreement with the European Union in the coming weeks.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn welcomed the final adoption of the police reform law and said "this will now open the door for further steps on the country's path toward the EU."

Bosnia's international administrator, Slovak diplomat Miroslav Lajcak, said "the road is open" for Bosnia to sign the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU and that this sends a strong signal to both the EU and to investors that Bosnia "is open for business."

The peace agreement that ended three and a half years of war in 1995 divided the country into a Serb Republic and a Bosniak-Croat Federation, each with its own police force.

Since 1995, almost all ethnically divided government institutions have been merged, in addition to the army, in which Serbs, Muslim Bosniaks and Croats serve together.

Initially, the EU said merging the police forces was essential, but Bosnian Serbs held out for years against giving up their separate police force, fearing it might lead to the loss of their separate territory within Bosnia.

The EU eventually gave up on its demand to merge the forces and instead called on them to be more effective, financed from a joint budget and free from the influence of politicians.

The EU will now review the details of the adopted bill to ensure it complies with the standards the bloc has set.

The four lawmakers who voted against the bill Wednesday are Bosniaks who said they believed the law offers only "cosmetic" changes to the existing police structure, and the law was designed to satisfy the EU — not improve security in Bosnia.

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