The political climate in the region is much better than before, processes of cooperation and reconciliation are going well, and Croatian President Ivo Josipovic, who is creating a new atmosphere in the region, has contributed to that just as Serbian President Boris Tadic, Inzko told a news conference in the Austrian Foreign Ministry in Vienna on Tuesday.
Ivo Josipovic was the first Croatian president to visit Banja Luka, Inzko added.
Commenting on the 15th anniversary of the Dayton peace agreement, Inzko said that significant headway had been made in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
"The Dayton deal has resulted in significant institutions, but Bosnia and Herzegovina has been stagnating for the last four years, its reforms have reached a stalemate, and as a result, the country is lagging behind its neighbours," Inzko said.
Bosnia could soon be circled by EU candidates or EU members, the Austrian diplomat said, adding that Croatia will join the Union in one or two years' time.
Inzko said that Bosnia must step up its progress and called on local politicians to set up the new government as soon as possible,
He stressed the secession of the Bosnian Serb entity would be "a posthumous success of the policy of Slobodan Milosevic".
According to him, the international engagement in Bosnia must continue as long as Bosnia is not able to solve its problems on its own.