BOSNIA - BRCKO AMENDMENT PASSES COUNCIL OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SARAJEVO 000183 SIPDIS EUR/SCE (HYLAND, FOOKS),NSC FOR HELGERSON E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/12/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR KDEM BK SUBJECT: BOSNIA - BRCKO AMENDMENT PASSES COUNCIL OF MINISTERS; ONWARD TO PARLIAMENT REF: SARAJEVO 174 Classified By: Michael J. Murphy. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) The Council of Ministers (CoM) on February 12 approved the proposed constitutional amendment on Brcko (Reftel),the last step before its introduction into Parliament. All Ministers voted in favor except for Foreign Minister Alkalaj and Human Rights and Refugees Minister Halilovic, both of whom belong to Haris Silajdzic,s Party for BiH (SBiH). The CoM agreed to introduce the amendment into the Collegia of both houses of Parliament during the week of February 16, and the Collegia will launch the lengthy legislative process. (Note: Details on the legislative procedure for this amendment will be reported septel. End Note.) ¶2. (C) The amendment,s quick passage in the CoM is an important victory, but our challenges are just beginning. Next week, we will focus on meeting with the chairmen of the Collegia from the House of Representatives and the House of Peoples, who will receive the amendment from the CoM. We will also meet with the caucus heads in both houses to discuss the way forward. We will continue our engagement with parliamentarians, particularly from the Party of Democratic Action (SDA),whose party leadership will convene on February 17 to discuss the amendment. On the same day, the Republika Srpska National Assembly (RSNA) will hold a special session to discuss, among other issues, the Brcko amendment. We will keep a careful eye on the Serb Democratic Party (SDS),whose chairman, Mladen Bosic, on February 12 conveyed to Ambassador only reserved support for the amendment. ENGLISH