Raffi Gregorian, Deputy High Representative to Bosnia-Herzegovina, has confirmed that the final deadline for agreement is March 2. That date is connected with the possibility of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the EC signing a Stabilisation and Association Agreement at the beginning of summer.
If the deadline is not respected, the signing of the agreement could be postponed by at least a year.
I want to see to it that the talks start and that we move forward. If all goes well, the Stabilisation and Association Agreement could be signed in the next few months, Gregorian said in an interview for the Banja Luka-based "Nezavisne novine" daily on Monday.
Gregorian said that the plan for police reform, devised by the Police Reform Directorate, was not satisfactory for all parties concerned, which was why additional talks were necessary to resolve outstanding issues.
It is vital to accept police organisation at the state level and to adopt a police budget at the state level. All other issues, such as whether there will be a Republika Srpska police force or if it will be part of a bigger force need yet to be discussed, said the US diplomat who previously worked on the establishment of a single military force in the country.
Republika Srpska PM Milorad Dodik is adamant that entity police must be preserved regardless of the goals of the reform.
If there is no entity police force, there will be no agreement, Dodik told reporters in Banja Luka on Sunday.
He went on to say that proposals from the Police Reform Directorate were illegitimate and could serve only as a model for new talks between political leaders in the country, "without external interference and threats of sanctions".
He reiterated that he would personally never accept the abolishment of Serb police and would rather stay outside the EU, if that was the price of admission.
The chairman of Bosnia's Council of Ministers, Nikola Spiric, who is a member of Dodik's party, said he was ready to call a meeting of political leaders, possibly this week, to discuss police reform.