Sarajevo: Bosnia's Parliament adopted a long-disputed police reform, allowing the country to take its next step toward membership in the European Union.
Laws allowing the creation of a more effective police force are a key condition for Bosnia to sign a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the European Union.
The Parliament's move yesterday enabled a signing of the Agreement end of April. If properly implemented the Agreement is the gateway to candidate status.
Lawmakers of the Lower House of the Parliament dismissed yesterday all previous proposals that derived from a four-year discussion about to what extent to integrate the two existing, ethnically divided, police forces.
They called for an emergency session yesterday evening and adopted a new proposal developed with the help of Bosnia's international administrator, Slovak diplomat Miroslav Lajcak.
Out of the 42 lawmakers, 22 voted for the compromise, 19 were against and one abstained. The reform still must be confirmed by the Upper House, which is usually a formality.
The compromise does not foresee the merger of the two existing police forces but establishes seven bodies that will coordinate police work and integrate some areas, like education or forensics.
The reform vague, leaving the authority of those central bodies over local police forces to be defined one year after a constitutional reform is adopted. When this will happen is hard to foresee. Delays in implementing reforms the country often result from its complex setup.
