Bosnien und Herzegowina

Valentin Inzko, the high representative for Bosnia-Herzegovina, has hailed the results of the local elections that saw the opposition win the Balkan country's two major cities earlier this month, dealing a blow to long-ruling nationalists.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell used the 25th anniversary of the peace agreement that ended the war in Bosnia to urge Bosnia's political leaders to overcome ethnic divisions and prepare their nation to join the EU.

A quarter of a century after the Dayton agreement, Bosnia and Herzegovina enjoys peace. But, in the last 15 years, the EU and US have failed to press for reform in the country, a neglect that has enabled ethno-political leaders to capture the state.

Bosnia’s local elections saw ruling parties on the national level losing key strongholds in Sarajevo and Banja Luka, suggesting a potential shift on country’s stale political scene.

After a delay of two-and-a-half years, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Council of Ministers adopted a revised strategy for processing war crimes cases, intended to speed up work on clearing the country’s huge backlog.

The coronavirus pandemic will have lasting consequences for large-scale war crimes cases at the Bosnian state court, as trials involving more than five defendants have already been suspended for six months, legal experts said.

After months of wrangling between the main parties, the upper house of the Bosnian parliament on Wednesday passed a 2020 budget – which includes funding for local elections now due on November 15.