The High Representative and EU Special Representative, Christian Schwarz-Schilling, is travelling to Washington today for a series of high-level talks on the structure of the international presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina after 30 June.

This two-day visit to the United States is part of a series of visits to key capitals ahead of the next meeting of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) scheduled for 26 and 27 February. The goal of these visits is to develop a consolidated position in advance of that meeting, at which a final decision will be taken on the future of the Office of the High Representative.

“The PIC must make a thorough assessment of conditions in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the wider region to develop the most appropriate strategies for assisting this country’s evolution towards Euro-Atlantic integration,” Mr Schwarz-Schilling said. “My visits to capitals are important to ensuring that PIC members have the best possible picture of the situation on the ground.”

In Washington, the High Representative and EU Special Representative will be meeting with Rosemary di Carlo, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State at the State Department and Judy Ansley, the Senior Director for European Affairs at the National Security Council, and Roberts Owen, Brcko Arbitrator, among others.

As in other capitals, Mr Schwarz-Schilling will be focusing on the current political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina; impediments to the signing of a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the European Union, that is police restructuring and PBS reform in particular; economic reforms and government formation.

The High Representative and EU Special Representative started his consultations with PIC members in advance of the February PIC in Berlin. He has since held meetings in Paris and Brussels. After Washington, he will visit London.

The High Representative and EU Special Representative is preparing his own assessment and a recommendation for the OHR’s future that he will send to PIC members in mid-February.