US reconsiders role in Bosnia and Herzegovina

European indecision and the Peace Implementation Council (PIC)'s abandonment of its own duty towards Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) are forcing the United States of America (USA) to reconsider its role in the current international presence in BiH, the US Embassy in Sarajevo announced after the PIC session failed to reach an agreement on the appointment of a High Representative in BiH.

"The US delegation sought to reach consensus on a shared vision and a highly qualified Italian candidate, experienced diplomat Ambassador Antonio Zanardi Landi. Secretary (Marco) Rubio described the Italian candidate to Congress as 'a gentleman who we believe would do a good job, helping to provide some stability to the position,'" the US Embassy said in a post on the X social network.

This can indeed be seen in the light of the United States challenging the EU or imposing itself as an independent factor in the region.

They stressed that they "take note of the European failure to reach consensus on a European candidate" and that the US is "disappointed that these divisions have prevented the PIC from fulfilling its task and electing a new High Representative."

At the PIC session, held on June 3rd and 4th in Sarajevo, no new High Representative was appointed, after German Christian Schmidt resigned from that position.

The session discussed two candidates, the Italian diplomat Landi and the French diplomat Rene Trocaz.

Landia was proposed by Italy with the support of the United States, while Trokaza was proposed by France, with the support of Germany and Great Britain.

The State Department, which declared that "the era of US-led state-building is over," made it clear that it wanted a new envoy with a more limited mandate and that it supported Landy for the position.

Reuters states that, according to unconfirmed reports, most European countries have supported the Trokaza.

The agency states that the division between the US and Europe comes at a sensitive time for BiH.

“It can really be seen in terms of the United States challenging the EU or imposing itself as a stand-alone factor in the region, rather than there being some kind of unified approach, as has essentially been the case since Dayton,” a US analyst who did not want to be named told Reuters.

Outgoing High Representative Christian Schmidt stated that the PIC will continue to deal with the issue of his successor in the coming days, expressing confidence that a new High Representative in BiH will be appointed by the end of June, the Beta agency reported.

EU Delegation and European PIC Members: New High Representative Should Be From Europe

The Delegation of the European Union (EU) to BiH and the embassies of the EU member states that are members of the PIC issued a joint press release today, emphasizing that the new High International Representative in the country should be from one of the EU countries.

Stating that BiH has applied for EU membership, diplomats from the EU Delegation, as well as the ambassadors of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain, stressed that it is precisely this fundamental commitment of BiH that dictates the need for a European diplomat to head the Office of the High Representative (OHR).

"In light of this fundamental commitment, EU members within the PIC Steering Board believe that the new High Representative, in line with previous practice, should come from an EU member state," the statement, reported by Beta, states.

When it comes to the election process itself, EU diplomatic representatives stressed that they are fully committed to appointing a successor to Christian Schmidt, adding that the completion of this process should be by the end of June.

They further emphasized the importance of cooperation with the US and other international partners within the PIC Steering Board, stating that "the European bloc remains determined to continue working with partners to harmonize and approximate positions on the new candidate."

They assessed that the priority was "to find a person who would act as a truly integrative factor on the political scene of BiH."

"We are determined to bring together views on a candidate who is able to cooperate with all stakeholders in the implementation of the High Representative's mandate, including domestic stakeholders. We are continuing intensive consultations in the coming days and are ready to meet again with our partners within the Steering Board to finalize the appointment process soon," the statement said.

Finally, they stressed that the EU remains "firmly and unquestionably committed to the stability, security and territorial integrity of BiH, as well as its secure path towards full EU membership."