BRUSSELS, 4 July — The EU yesterday pledged to step into the breach and take over the UN police mission in Bosnia, as the fallout from America’s threat to block the operation over a dispute on the International Criminal Court stoked trans-Atlantic tensions.
Meanwhile, Per Stig Moller, foreign minister of Denmark, said diplomats at the UN Security Council were working feverishly to hammer out a compromise.
Javier Solana, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, said the EU could move “very fast” to take over responsibility, while initially operating under the cover of the existing UN mandate.
“We have everything planned for a smooth transition; the chief of police will continue. He is from Denmark (an EU member state) and is already in place.” The EU appears keen to use the diplomatic rift to increase its leadership role in the region, and Solana said that financing for bringing forward the police mission has been agreed in principle. Only technical and logistical details now need to be resolved.
With concerns mounting over the effect of the US action, officials moved quickly to allay fears that the row over the International Criminal Court could destabilize the region.
The US presented a compromise plan to the UN Security Council in an effort to break the deadlock, the council’s president said. The plan invoked Article 16 of the 1998 Rome Treaty, which established on Monday the ICC.
The article allows the court to defer for 12 months investigations or prosecution of persons suspected of genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity.
The deferral is given to countries that are not a party to the Rome Treaty. A total of 139 countries signed the Rome Treaty and 75 of them have ratified. (The Independent)
