EU determined to resolve standoff over Bosnia envoy, Kallas says

SARAJEVO, July 2 - The EU is determined to find a strong candidate for the post of international peace envoy for Bosnia and Herzegovina, EU foreign chief Kaja Kallas said on Thursday, to replace a German diplomat who resigned in May under what he described as U.S. pressure.

Last month, countries failed to reach a consensus on a successor for Christian Schmidt as high representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, a post with wide powers in the country since the 1990s under international agreements that ended war there. The role has always been held by a European, with a U.S. deputy.

"We are determined to find the European candidate who can help move Bosnia and Herzegovina forward," Kallas said during a visit to Bosnia.

"While the negotiations on a successor continue, ultimately the success of the Office of the High Representative will be measured by the day it is no longer needed," Kallas said. "Until then, it remains an important pillar of stability."

The U.S., which had announced that the "U.S.-led nation-building era has passed", has made clear that it wants a new envoy with a more limited mandate. It supported Italian diplomat Antonio Zanardi Landi for the job, while most European countries supported French diplomat Rene Troccaz.

The United States has said it would reconsider its role in Bosnia and Herzegovina unless its preferred candidate is approved.

Earlier this week, Schmidt's deputy Louis Crishock was named as the acting high representative until a new envoy is appointed by July 14 at the latest.

Bosnia is at the bottom of a queue of the Western Balkan hopefuls aspiring to join the EU, as it has stalled its reform progress due to political blockades over the past two years.

"Sustained reforms are the fastest and most effective way to advance the accession process," Kallas said, adding: "This window of opportunity for accession may not be open forever."

She said Bosnia had already lost €108 million in EU funding from the bloc's €6 billion growth plan for the region, and was facing the risk of losing an additional €370 million unless it proceeds with necessary reforms.

Bosnia is divided into two political entities, one controlled by ethnic Serbs and one controlled by Bosniaks and Croats, with a weak central government supervised by the international envoy.

The Bosnian Serb representatives in state institutions have been consistently blocking EU-related reforms, with their nationalist pro-Russian leadership dismissing EU accession and turning to the U.S. administration for support. REUTERS