The FINANCIAL — (SARAJEVO) – According to the EU Business web-site, The European Union Monday opened talks in Bosnia on a central justice reform, following pressure from Bosnian Serbs who have claimed the system is biased against them.
"The main objective of this dialogue is consolidation of the rule of law and the establishment of an independent, effective, impartial and accountable judicial system across the whole country," the EU enlargement commissioner Stefan Fuele said.
Before officially opening the talks in the northern Bosnian town of Banja Luka, the capital of Serb-run entity Republika Srpska, Fuele in Sarajevo met the Muslim member of the country's tripartite presidency, Bakir Izetbegovic.
"The whole of system in Bosnia and Hercegovina shall be made compatible with the EU standards and … for the benefit of every citizen," Fuele said after the meeting.
Bosnia is the only Balkans country yet to apply for a membership in the European Union.
The dialogue has been forced by threats of the Bosnian Serb authorities to hold a referendum on the central justice system. Bosnian Serbs have claimed the system was biased against them and mostly investigating and trying war crimes committed by Serbs during the 1992-1995 inter-ethnic conflict.
In order to end a political crisis provoked by the threat, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton last month agreed with the president of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik to open a dialogue on the justice reform. Dodik promptly withdrew his referendum plans.
The Dayton peace agreement that ended the war left Bosnian divided into two semi-independent entities — Republika Srpska and Muslim-Croat Federation. The two entities are linked by loose central institutions.
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