Source: http://dalje.com/en-croatia/croatian-me ... nia/495056

Croatian MEP calls for greater EU involvement in Bosnia

The European Union should take a new approach towards Bosnia and Herzegovina based on the federal experiences of its member states and the first step on that road should be reorganisation of the Federation as one of the country's two entities, Croatian member of the European Parliament Davor Stier said in an interview with the Sarajevo daily Dnevni Avaz of Wednesday.

Stier wrote an article in New Europe magazine on Monday presenting the case for the increased involvement of the European Union in tackling the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, highlighting the importance of the involvement of the most influential EU members, the European Parliament and the Council.

Stier believes that the EU institutions devote little attention to the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and that this should change. He told Dnevni Avaz that his article in New Europe was a call to the EU member states to focus on the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and take leadership in defining a policy that would promote European values in that country. He added that a new approach meant new concepts and the key would be a transition from the Dayton two-entity model to the European federal model.

"In Bosnia and Herzegovina, ethnic issues have not been resolved yet, which hampers democratic development and institutional functioning," Stier said, adding that because of such a situation there was a constant conflict between the separatist and centralist concepts which undermined the foundations of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a state.

"A new approach should be based on the existing federal experiences in Europe, taking into account the fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina is home to three different peoples," Stier said, recommending "federalising the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina" as the first step towards Europeanising the entire country.

Under the Dayton agreement, which ended the 1992-1995 war in the country, Bosnia and Herzegovina was divided into two entities: the Serb entity known as the Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat entity called the Federation.

Thumb up for Davor Stier.

A few questions need to be asked:

1. From where will Stier find support for such an effort to reorganize BiH along federalist lines?
2. If he finds enough support in EU bodies and their respective states, how will the USA react to such a proposal?
3. What kind of carrots will be provided in light of the sour taste left in the mouth of donor states after the brazen theft of billions in aid money after Dayton?
4. What kind of sticks can be used to coerce the Muslims in particular to give up their hegemonic ambitions?

Stier is our greatest champion in Europe and judging by his performance thus far he has shown himself to not only be intelligent and articulate, but also to be driven and principled. Let's hope that these attributes help him create a coalition for such a reorganization.