The pace of Government formation is unacceptably slow said High Representative and EU Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina (HR/EUSR), when he met today with acting BiH House of Representatives Speaker Adnan Basic in Sarajevo.

HR/EUSR Inzko emphasized that negotiations for coalition formation need to speed up urgently and that parties need to end the current stalemate. “Politicians have received mandates from the voters to govern this country. They waste time playing power games, when they should start resolving the issues that become more pressing with each passing day: the fight against crime and corruption, economic recovery and a return to the reform agenda for EU and NATO integration.”

HR/EUSR Inzko told Acting Speaker Basic that the International Community was ready to help, but that the International Community cannot form Governments instead of BiH politicians. “They need to show responsibility, determination and a readiness for compromise, just as in any democratic, multi-party system,” said HR/EUSR Inzko.

Noting that BiH ratified the UN Convention on Rights of People with Disabilities on 18 December 2009, HR/EUSR Inzko and acting HoR Speaker Basic discussed the standstill in implementation of the Convention.. “Apart from the establishment of a Council for People with Disabilities – whose members, however, are still not appointed - little has been done by the competent state ministries. I encourage the new government, once in place, to put this issue on the agenda.”