They agreed that by October 10 they would agree the election models that will satisfy the legitimate interests of the three constituent peoples and 'others', while at the same time conforming to international standards, according to the conclusions from a meeting chaired by European Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele.
The election of two presidency members from the Federation entity, through amendments to the Constitution and the election law, is expected to implement the European court ruling and prevent the imposition of election results to any constituent peoples or 'others', the conclusions say.
The participants in today's meeting agreed it was imperative to urgently implement the ruling so that every Bosnian citizen could run for the state presidency and the House of Peoples.
The implementation of the 2009 ruling in the Sejdic-Finci case is a condition set by the European Union so that Bosnia and Herzegovina can progress in European integration. Unless the ruling is enforced, the international community will not recognise the results of next year's parliamentary election and Bosnia cannot submit a credible EU membership application.
The enforcement of the ruling envisages the rescinding of a provision stipulating that the state presidency is comprised of one member each from the Bosniak, Croat and Serb peoples because it violates the rights of other citizens, preventing them from being elected. 'Others' are also prevented from being elected to the state upper house.
Today's principles were signed by Dragan Covic of the HDZ BiH, Martin Raguz of the HDZ 1990, Bakir Izetbegovic of the SDA, Mirsad Djonlagic of the Alliance for a Better Future, Milorad Dodik of the SNSD, Mladen Bosic of the SDS, and Zlatko Lagumdzija of the SDP.
Under the principles, all three state presidency members would be elected in direct election - one from the Republika Srpska Serb entity and two from the Croat-Bosniak Federation entity. Each entity would be one constituency.
The participants in the meeting also agreed to finish models for the establishment of an effective mechanism to coordinate issues related to European integration and the management of European funds.
The next meeting will be held in Brussels on October 10.
Ahead of today's meeting, Fuele replied to a question put by Croatian members of the European Parliament Ivo Stier and Tonino Picula.
Replying on behalf of the European Commission, he said there were different election models in the EU and that the Commission encouraged relevant Bosnian bodies to use these different approaches to reach a consensus and ensure the equal treatment of all ethnic groups in Bosnia during elections.
The reply confirms that dealing with the issue of equality of all constituent peoples and citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina is a priority for Bosnia's European prospects, Stier said, adding that Belgium's federal model could be a possible option.
Eliminating discrimination in the representation system is a common legacy of all EU countries which guarantees fundamental human and civil rights, said Picula.