PIC Steering Board to select new High Representative for BiH, outcome unclear

The body brings together the most influential Western countries, as well as Turkey representing the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), and also includes Russia as a formal member, although Moscow withdrew from its work in 2021, advocating the complete closure of the Office of the High Representative (OHR).

The PIC Steering Board meets regularly every six months to assess the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including compliance with the Dayton Peace Agreement, and to provide guidance for the High Representative’s activities. However, this week’s meeting has already been described as one of the most significant since the end of the 1992–1995 war, which followed the three-and-a-half-year conflict concluded through US-brokered peace efforts under the Clinton administration.

The current US administration under Donald Trump opposes interventionism in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the use of the extensive powers granted to High Representatives at the 1997 Bonn PIC meeting, including the authority to dismiss elected officials and impose legislation.

High Representative Christian Schmidt has also used these powers during his nearly five-year term. Amendments he imposed to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Criminal Code led to the removal of Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik from office after he was sentenced to one year in prison for failing to comply with the High Representative’s decisions.

The United States now wants the next High Representative to be the last, with the role reduced to that of a mediator helping domestic politicians resolve outstanding issues.

Washington has proposed Italian career diplomat Antonio Zanardi Landi as its preferred candidate, but this nomination faces reservations from key European countries, particularly France and Germany. German and French ministers responsible for European affairs, Benjamin Haddad and Gunther Krichbaum, arrived in Sarajevo on Tuesday ahead of the PIC Steering Board session.

Paris and Berlin favour a candidate aligned with European policy and support retaining the High Representative’s intervention powers, while London has also backed a strong mandate for the OHR. UK Minister for Europe Stephen Doughty informed Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Foreign Minister Elmedin Konakovic of this position during a phone call on Monday.

According to available information, France and Germany are backing French special envoy for the Western Balkans Rene Troccaz as a candidate for the post.

European Council President Antonio Costa, who visited Sarajevo on Monday, said it was important for Brussels that the new High Representative be selected in a way that reflects European interests and policy.