Bosnia-Herzegovina (Hansard, 22 June 2004)

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
My Lords, Bosnia-Herzegovina has made significant progress in meeting the military conditions for Partnership for Peace, but lack of co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia means that Bosnia-Herzegovina has not yet met the political criteria for membership. Progress in the 16 priority areas identified by the European Commission's Stabilisation and Association Agreement feasibility study in November 2003 has also been mixed, with good progress in some areas but not in others. The European Commission will review progress in the 16 areas in the autumn.

§ Lord Ahmed
My Lords, I thank my noble friend for her reply. Does she agree that it is crucial for Republika Srpska to co-operate with the International War Crimes Tribunal at The Hague on the arrest of Radovan Karadzic and other indictees? Does she also agree that the High Representative, the noble Lord, Lord Ashdown, has achieved excellent results in rebuilding the institutions and encouraging appropriate legislation? Will she confirm that he has the full support of her Majesty's Government? Will my noble friend further agree that for a self-sustainable state, more power and fiscal authority has to be transferred to the state of Bosnia-Herzegovina from the two entities?

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
My Lords, I largely agree with my noble friend Lord Ahmed. The Republika Srpska authorities have indeed failed to take decisive action to locate and detain fugitive indictees, most notably Mr Karadzic, or to tackle their extensive support networks. Of course, we support all the action that the noble Lord, Lord Ashdown, is taking in this respect. I understand that he and others in the international community have delivered firm messages about the inaction over Mr Karadzic and others, which is jeopardising Bosnia's Partnership for Peace prospects. I also agree with my noble friend's comments about moving towards an economic entity.

§ Lord Howell of Guildford
My Lords, does the Minister agree that there is considerable disappointment among the Bosnian leadership that they have been told so definitely that their candidacy for Partnership for Peace in NATO has been turned down for the time being? As the Minister says, that is 1121 largely due to the failure of a single suspect being handed over, especially by Republika Srpska. Is it entirely fair that the Bosnians, who were doing their best to move forward and become candidates both for the European Union and for the NATO partnership, should be punished because of backsliding by Republika Srpska? Will she suggest ways in which additional pressure can be put on the government of Republika Srpska and their officials to move forward a little and make real efforts to find the suspects?

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord for making those points so well. It is important to say that Her Majesty's Government fully support Bosnia-Herzegovina's NATO aspirations. We welcome the progress that Bosnia-Herzegovina has made in implementing wide-ranging defence reforms, especially by appointing the first ever state-level defence minister, whom I met only 10 days ago. He and I had the opportunity to discuss problems relating to Republika Srpska, which is part of Bosnia-Herzegovina. One of the main reasons for having a state-level defence minister is to make an effort to pull these issues together.
However, it is important that the noble Lord does not concentrate only on Mr Karadzic. Although he is the highest-level person that we want to see detained, as I mentioned a moment ago, there are others and we are not happy about the way in which the networks that support them are allowed to continue to exist.

§ Lord Wallace of Saltaire
My Lords, will the Minister confirm that, under the terms of the stability pact for south-eastern Europe, Bosnia and also Albania, Macedonia and Serbia Montenegro are on the path to join the European Union when they fulfil the full range of conditions that apply, and that it is important that the full range of conditions is applied to all of those candidates as they progress?

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
My Lords, it is important to recognise that all these countries are at slightly different points in developing their relationships, certainly with the European Union. Albania has begun negotiations for a Stabilisation and Association Agreement. Those negotiations began in 2003. Macedonia has submitted its official application to join the EU on 22 March 2004. We have not had an application from Bosnia-Herzegovina because it has not yet reached the point at which that would be appropriate.

§ Lord Tomlinson
My Lords, will my noble friend confirm that the European Union remains committed to the cause of Bosnia-Herzegovina? Will she further agree with Commissioner Patten, who, when speaking to the German Bundestag European Union committee 1122 in April, blamed political failure in Bosnia-Herzegovina for not making progress on the 16 items specified as part of the stabilisation and association process? Is my noble friend therefore in a position to spell out to the House quite clearly where the elements of failure in those 16 conditions are and how imperative it is that they are all met?

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
Yes, my Lords. Not only has the EU made it clear that Bosnia and all other countries in the region are potential candidates for EU membership, but, on behalf of the UK Government, I also say that we support Bosnia's EU aspirations. However, Bosnia-Herzegovina is not at that point yet. My noble friend Lord Tomlinson is right to remind us that there are some very specific areas where it is falling down. The problem for the EU is not only in respect of the non-co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, but with a wide area of fiscal and economic areas such as customs and taxation reform, budget legislation, budget practices including the recording of all income accruing to public authorities and the whole question of having reliable statistics. There is a range of issues on the economic front that urgently need to be addressed.

§ Lord Hylton
My Lords, will the Government do everything that they can to encourage inward investment into Bosnia and the rest of south-eastern Europe because a rising economy will provide favourable conditions both for peace and general progress?

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
My Lords, the best encouragement to inward investment in any country—bearing in mind that inward investment is a highly competitive area, and I speak as a former Trade Minister—is for that country to have transparency in its economy. A country must also have effective public administration. Bosnia-Herzegovina still has to make further efforts towards creating not only an economic climate that is right but an effective public administration which would encourage that inward investment.

§ Baroness Gibson of Market Rasen
My Lords, is my noble friend aware of the very high esteem in which the British forces are held in Bosnia-Herzegovina, especially because of their role in the peacekeeping process?

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
My Lords, I am indeed aware of that high esteem, particularly because at the end of my time as a Minister in the Ministry of Defence, I visited Bosnia-Herzegovina with General Jackson. As a British soldier who had served there, he was held in the highest possible esteem, as were all the serving officers I met. I witnessed that for myself.