by Hartmut Bühl, Paris
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n a conversation at the end of November 2024, I was able to ask the High Representative for Implementation of the Peace Agreement on Bosnia and Herzegovina (HR), Christian Schmidt, about his duties. I was interested in his view on the EU accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), which the European Council decided to start in March 2024, but also in the sometimes harsh criticism of the Dayton Agreement and of the HR’s powers.
Complex tasks
In our conversation, Schmidt, who has held the office of HR since 2021, describes his role as essentially that of a “mediator and intermediary”. He says that he works every day to help the country, with its different religions and ethnic groups, develop into a stable democracy. A complex task indeed in a state that, since the end of the Bosnian War (1992-1995) and the Dayton Peace Agreement (see box), now consists of two entities: the Bosniak-Croat dominated Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Serb dominated Republika Srpska. In BiH’s north is located the self-governing district of Brčko (see map). The country, formed by the Dayton Peace Agreement, was conceived as a multi-ethnic state. Institutional and constitutional adjustments are therefore still necessary in view of potential membership of the EU.
According to the Dayton Agreement, the HR is responsible for implementing the civilian aspects of the peace agreement. He is nominated by the Peace Implementation Council (PIC), which comprises 55 states and organisations such as the OSCE. The HR receives political guidelines for his tasks from the PIC’s Steering Committee and chairs regular meetings in Sarajevo with the ambassadors of the Committee’s member countries. He is independent in his decisions and can also pass laws, a right that has been used repeatedly in the past.
Too much influence?
For Schmidt, criticism of the HR is part of the domestic political power play. Each of the ethno-nationalist parties that currently dominate political events repeatedly use criticism of partisanship against Schmidt to mobilise their own voters, he tells me. Schmidt points out that unfortunately, Republika Srpska is increasingly ignoring the state’s legal requirements. He explains to me that he is attentive to such criticism and is trying to mediate, above all to make it clear that he expects those responsible locally to implement the legal requirements of Dayton and the EU. Sometimes, “local political representatives give the impression that they are happy to sit down at the table set by the HR and then criticise the cook without contributing anything to the success of the evening”, he says.
However, there is also discussion at the international level as to whether the HR has too much influence on the country’s internal affairs, for example with the change in electoral law in BiH initiated by Schmidt in spring 2024. In doing so, he enforced the EU’s organisational and technical demands regarding the transparency and integrity of the electoral process, he emphasises.
The Bonn Powers
The function of the HR has undergone a certain change since it was established. The core of the executive mandate remains unchanged in the so-called Bonn Powers. Since the Bonn Conclusion, adopted at a PIC conference in Bonn in 1997, the HR can, among other things, dismiss public officials who violate legal regulations or the Dayton Peace Agreement. He can issue laws that he deems appropriate, provided that these cannot be passed by the central government of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Bonn Conclusion has thus developed into the actual “power base” of the HR. When I asked about the exact legal nature, Schmidt replied that according to Annex 10 of the peace treaty he had a clear mandate and can act “as he deems necessary”.
EU candidate Bosnia and Herzegovina
When I finally ask whether he sees a future strong and democratic state of BiH with chances of joining the EU, Schmidt answers with great openness: “It will be a difficult path, that’s for sure. But it can be mastered. Ultimately, it depends on the elected politicians how good the chances are.”
