SETimes.comSolana calls for adoption of BiH constitutional changes
18/04/2006
EU security chief Javier Solana urged the parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday to adopt a set of constitutional changes agreed on last month.
(DTT-NET, EU, FENA, Office of the High Representative - 17/04/06)
EU security chief Javier Solana urged members of Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH) Parliament on Monday ( 17 April) to support key constitutional amendments aimed at strengthening central institutions and improving their efficiency. The changes agreed on by the seven major ruling and opposition parties in BiH last month also are expected to facilitate the country's progress towards EU integration.
"I welcome the progress made in Bosnia and Herzegovina towards reforming the constitution," Solana said in a statement ahead of a debate Tuesday by a committee of the parliament's lower house on a legislative package that includes the proposed constitutional changes. "These amendments offer an important first step towards ensuring that the country's central institutions function more effectively in order to meet European standards."
The proposed measures envision the replacement of the current three-member presidency with a single, rotating president and two vice presidents. The three -- each representing one of the country's main ethnic groups (Muslims, Croats and Serbs) -- would be elected by parliament and not directly, as is the current practice, and for a four-year term in office.
Under the agreement, the number of lawmakers in parliament's lower house, the House of Representatives, would grow substantially -- from 42 members currently to 87 members. The 15-seat upper house, the House of Peoples, would grow to 21 deputies, with an equal representation of the three main ethnic communities. However, its powers would be curtailed.
The leaders of the seven political parties also agreed to strengthen the country's central government by adding two new ministerial seats to the cabinet, which presently comprises nine ministers, as well as to expand the powers of the prime minister, allowing him to hire and fire ministers.
"This week, the Bosnian parliamentarians have the chance to send a positive signal to Europe that the country is ready and able to reform itself," Solana said Monday, joining other international officials who have called for the quick adoption of the proposed changes.
BiH is scheduled to hold general elections in October. By law, the amendments must be adopted at least six months before then, or they will not go into effect until the 2010 elections.
Ahead of Tuesday's debate by the House of Representative's Constitutional Legal Affairs Committee (CLAC), the BiH government on Monday approved the proposed changes and called for the preparation of legislation that would ensure full implementation of the constitutional reform agreement.
"I believe this is such an important issue that the full plenary of the House of Representatives should have the opportunity for a full and frank debate," said Christian Schwarz-Schilling, the top international envoy in BiH. "Given the timelines related to the election deadlines, this has to happen without delay."
Bosnian media reports quoted CLAC member Misrad Ceman as saying that, theoretically, there was a chance for the proposed amendments to be adopted by the House of Representatives on 25 April.
Both Solana and Schwarz-Schilling noted on Monday that the changes hammered out last month constitute the first step in a longer process, and that further constitutional reforms would be discussed after the October elections.
"I am committed to assume an active role in this second phase of constitutional reform, but a second phase can only be built on the basis of a successful first phase," Schwarz-Schilling said.