Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09SARAJEVO452
2009-04-10 11:06:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Sarajevo
Cable title:
BOSNIA - PM SPIRIC MOVES FORWARD (FINALLY) ON
how-toVZCZCXRO5273 OO RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG DE RUEHVJ #0452 1001106 ZNR UUUUU ZZH O 101106Z APR 09 FM AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0025 INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC RUEKJCS/JCS WASHINGTON DC RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
UNCLAS SARAJEVO 000452
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR(JONES),EUR/SCE(FOOKS/MCGUIRE); NSC FOR
HELGERSON
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL KDEM EU BK
SUBJECT: BOSNIA - PM SPIRIC MOVES FORWARD (FINALLY) ON
STATE PROPERTY INVENTORY
UNCLAS SARAJEVO 000452
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR(JONES),EUR/SCE(FOOKS/MCGUIRE); NSC FOR
HELGERSON
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL KDEM EU BK
SUBJECT: BOSNIA - PM SPIRIC MOVES FORWARD (FINALLY) ON
STATE PROPERTY INVENTORY
1. (SBU) On April 9, Chairman of the Council of Ministers
(CoM) Nikola Spiric (Serb) agreed to place the long overdue
decision on an inventory of state property on the CoM agenda.
Spiric also agreed that the scope of the inventory should be
consistent with the March 26 communique of the Peace
Implementation Council (PIC) Political Directors. The CoM
agreed to establish a working group to start the inventory
process. For several months Spiric had been blocking CoM
consideration of the inventory decision and attempting to
inappropriately limit its scope, which would have prevented
the state from receiving title to property it required to
function. Spiric came under heavy criticism from most PIC
delegations during the March 25-26 PIC for his stonewalling.
In an April 7 meeting, the Ambassador warned Spiric that
Washington was unhappy with his intransigence, and stressed
that Spiric would find his meetings during an upcoming visit
to Washington "uncomfortable" if he did act on the inventory.
The EU Foreign Ministers troika (Swedish FM Bildt, French FM
Kouchner, and Czech FM Schwarzenberg) just visited Bosnia and
also pressed the inventory issue hard in an April 8 meeting
with Spiric.
Comment: What Next on State Property
--------------
2. (SBU) Three things are required to meet the PIC's
objective of "an acceptable and sustainable resolution" of
state property: 1) a properly conducted inventory; 2) an
intergovernmental agreement between the state, entities, and
Brcko District, which includes the list of assets allocated
to each level of government; and, 3) a State Property Law
that defines the procedures for implementing the settlement.
The intergovernmental agreement should be an integral part of
the law, incorporated as an annex. The long overdue progress
on the inventory is welcome, and it was a necessary
prerequisite for drafting an intergovernmental agreement.
That said, the state and entity governments will need to
agree on who gets what property, something that could easily
bog down. The intergovernmental agreement will likely
require significant facilitation and lobbying efforts by OHR
and the international community. Finally, political leaders
remain deeply divided over fundamental points on the law,
particularly how state property should be registered. Bottom
line: there is still a long way to go on state property.
CEFKIN
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR(JONES),EUR/SCE(FOOKS/MCGUIRE); NSC FOR
HELGERSON
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL KDEM EU BK
SUBJECT: BOSNIA - PM SPIRIC MOVES FORWARD (FINALLY) ON
STATE PROPERTY INVENTORY
1. (SBU) On April 9, Chairman of the Council of Ministers
(CoM) Nikola Spiric (Serb) agreed to place the long overdue
decision on an inventory of state property on the CoM agenda.
Spiric also agreed that the scope of the inventory should be
consistent with the March 26 communique of the Peace
Implementation Council (PIC) Political Directors. The CoM
agreed to establish a working group to start the inventory
process. For several months Spiric had been blocking CoM
consideration of the inventory decision and attempting to
inappropriately limit its scope, which would have prevented
the state from receiving title to property it required to
function. Spiric came under heavy criticism from most PIC
delegations during the March 25-26 PIC for his stonewalling.
In an April 7 meeting, the Ambassador warned Spiric that
Washington was unhappy with his intransigence, and stressed
that Spiric would find his meetings during an upcoming visit
to Washington "uncomfortable" if he did act on the inventory.
The EU Foreign Ministers troika (Swedish FM Bildt, French FM
Kouchner, and Czech FM Schwarzenberg) just visited Bosnia and
also pressed the inventory issue hard in an April 8 meeting
with Spiric.
Comment: What Next on State Property
--------------
2. (SBU) Three things are required to meet the PIC's
objective of "an acceptable and sustainable resolution" of
state property: 1) a properly conducted inventory; 2) an
intergovernmental agreement between the state, entities, and
Brcko District, which includes the list of assets allocated
to each level of government; and, 3) a State Property Law
that defines the procedures for implementing the settlement.
The intergovernmental agreement should be an integral part of
the law, incorporated as an annex. The long overdue progress
on the inventory is welcome, and it was a necessary
prerequisite for drafting an intergovernmental agreement.
That said, the state and entity governments will need to
agree on who gets what property, something that could easily
bog down. The intergovernmental agreement will likely
require significant facilitation and lobbying efforts by OHR
and the international community. Finally, political leaders
remain deeply divided over fundamental points on the law,
particularly how state property should be registered. Bottom
line: there is still a long way to go on state property.
CEFKIN