The Netherlands on Monday expressed regret at the explicit reference to term "constituent peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina" in the EU Strategic Compass endorsed by the General Affairs Council earlier in the day.

“The Netherlands (NL) welcomes the adoption of the Strategic Compass for security and defence. NL however regrets the fact that the text was amended to contain a reference to the discriminatory concept of constituent peoples,” reads a special statement released by the Netherlands.

“NL wishes to reaffirm that its agreement to the Strategic Compass today does in no way signal a change in the Dutch general position to ensure equality and non-discrimination of all citizens in BiH, notably by implementing the Sejdić-Finci case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

“NL underlines that no legislative or political step should be taken which would make the implementation of the Sejdić-Finci ruling and related ECtHR rulings more challenging or would further deepen ethnic divisions,” reads the statement.

The Sejdić-Finci ruling described the rules for the election of Bosnia and Herzegovina's tripartite presidency as discriminatory against individuals who are not members of the three constituent peoples: the Croats, the Bosniaks and the Serbs.