Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-02-15-Speech-3-101"
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"en.20060215.11.3-101"2
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"Mr President, in order to understand why the situation in Bosnia is so complicated today and why we need constitutional reform in Bosnia, we must understand the background. Everyone who experienced the war in Bosnia or who followed the events in the Balkans during the Nineties knows that the Dayton Agreement had one task, namely that of bringing the war to an end. It was incredibly important immediately to terminate the conflicts and prevent the country from being forced to experience another winter of war. Moreover, no one believed that the solution offered by the Dayton Agreement was perfect. On the contrary, there were many who believed that it was not good at all. The Dayton Agreement should probably be regarded more as a result of international efforts than as a desired compromise between Bosnia’s various political leaders. Since then, the peace agreement has, it is true, led to Bosnia retaining its territorial integrity. At the same time, however, Annex 4 to the agreement stated that the country should consist of two parts: a federation between Bosnians and Croats, and a Serbian part called Republica Srpska.
Ten years later, we note that the consequences of the Dayton Agreement are such that it is difficult for Bosnia to operate as a normal European country. There is therefore no point in our even talking about the hundreds of ministers or the cumbersome state apparatus. In my opinion, the main problem is that the Dayton Agreement has led to a situation in which ethnic interests, rather than those of the individual citizens, take priority. In that way, the Dayton Agreement has concluded the work begun by the nationalist parties during the first post-Communist election in 1990. These parties still wield more or less absolute political power and share a more or less pronounced ambition to rule over a certain territory populated by a particular ethnic group. Therein lies the difficulty of agreeing on an economic or political future for all citizens. Therein too lies the difficulty of agreeing on a president or on systems of education or customs duties. The ethnic dimension has become, and remains, more important than the civic dimension.
I was born, and grew up, in Bosnia and I experienced the war in that country. I am absolutely convinced that, just as when the Dayton Agreement was concluded, Bosnia must receive the practical help it needs from the international community. This excellent resolution may be the first step in the EU’s strong commitment to this work."@en1
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