The extension of the international mandate in Bosnia

The High Representatives will stay on a year longer than planned in Bosnia, because the situation in the region remains unstable in view of the possible separation of Kosovo. At the same time, the number of EU troops stationed there will be reduced from 6,000 to 2,500. Martin Woker examines why this decision has been largely ignored in Sarajevo. "The Bosnians and Croats ... still generally regard the institution of the Office of the High Representative as a necessary instrument for transforming the war-torn country into a functioning state, in accordance with the Dayton Peace Agreement. However, the institution also provides nationalists of all stripes with a welcome excuse for laying the blame for the country's political paralysis (and their own incompetence) on the foreign functionaries."

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