Bosnia and Herzegovina’s High Representative appointment sparks US‑EU tension

The United States embassy in Sarajevo warned it may "reconsider" its role in Bosnia and Herzegovina after European states failed to back the American‑favoured candidate, Italian diplomat Antonio Zanardi Landi, for the post of High Representative. European governments, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy, supported France’s envoy René Troccaz. The dispute unfolded at a meeting of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC), the body overseeing the 1995 Dayton peace agreement, and the PIC is expected to revisit the appointment later this month.

In a post on X, the embassy said, “The United States takes note of the European failure to reach consensus … and is disappointed these divisions prevented the PIC from fulfilling its task to elect a new High Representative.” The United States, which no longer maintains a substantial military presence in Bosnia, continues to influence the region through the PIC and bilateral relations.

Bosnian parliamentarian Darijana Filipović, a presidential candidate, argued that the Office of the High Representative (OHR) should have been closed long ago, stating “OHR se trebao davno zatvoriti” and warning that its powers have often been a source of instability. She called for Bosnians to choose their own representatives while acknowledging the need for continued US and EU support.

The controversy occurs against a backdrop of recent US actions, such as lifting sanctions on Serb leader Milorad Dodik and pressuring outgoing High Representative Christian Schmidt to resign after punitive measures against Dodik.