Deal moves Bosnia closer to EU

BOSNIA:Bosnia reached a preliminary deal on closer ties with the EU yesterday, putting the ethnically divided country on the path towards eventual membership of the bloc.

Bosnian prime minister Nikola Spiric initialled the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, who said the pact would be formally signed once fundamental changes to the country's police force were made.

After years of opposition from Bosnia's Serb republic to merging its police service with that of the country's Muslim-Croat region, the EU's sudden willingness to accept politicians' promises of reform suggest it is keen to engage Bosnia amid fears that local Serb radicals might seek independence if Kosovo wins sovereignty from Belgrade.

The pact may also bring home to Serbia the possibility of quickly strengthening ties with Brussels if it acquiesces to EU-backed plans for Kosovo's independence.

"Today we have a moment to celebrate," said Mr Rehn, who said Bosnia's leaders had convinced him on Monday night that they were committed to integrating their divided police forces. Calling the deal "the gateway to candidate status, provided [ it] is properly implemented", Mr Rehn appeared to urge Bosnia to loosen ties with Serbia by encouraging it to "become master of its own destiny in the framework of European integration".

Western diplomats have accused Serb politicians of destabilising Bosnia to stoke fears that widespread Balkan unrest would result from Kosovo's independence. Mr Spiric quit last month in protest at EU-backed plans to reform Bosnia's political system, but the country's parliament abruptly accepted the changes last Friday and then pledged to implement long-awaited police reform.