VZCZCXRO9261
PP RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHVJ #1499/01 1861309
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 051309Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3887
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JCS WASHDC PRIORITY
RUFOAOA/USNIC SARAJEVO PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAWJA/DOJ WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SARAJEVO 001499 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR (FRIED, DICARLO), D (SMITH), P (BAME), EUR/SCE 
(ENGLISH, SAINZ, FOOKS, COLLINS), L (DOROSIN, MANSFIELD), 
NSC FOR BRAUN, USNIC FOR WEBER, GREGORIAN, OSD FOR FLORY 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/24/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PREL BK
SUBJECT: BOSNIA: BRCKO WORKING GROUP AGREES ON WAY FORWARD 
 
REF: SARAJEVO 01197 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR DOUGLAS MCELHANEY FOR REASONS 1.4 (B), (D) 
 
¶1.  (U) SUMMARY.  On June 20-21 the Ambassador convened the 
second meeting of the Brcko District Working Group, aimed at 
establishing political and legal mechanisms to regularize 
Brcko's status in relation to the state institutions of 
Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).  Representatives came from the 
Council of Ministers, the Brcko District Office in Sarajevo, 
the Brcko Final Award Office and the Office of the High 
Representative.  Although the Council of Ministers sent a 
representative who could not negotiate directly on the Prime 
Minister's behalf, the Working Group agreed on a way forward 
in the near term.  The group focused on a set of mechanisms 
that would be achievable before the October elections, rather 
than on constitutional amendments that are politically 
unrealistic at this time.  They agreed that an action plan 
was needed and committed to drafting a new national law 
addressing Brcko's legal relationship with state 
institutions.  PM Terzic, in a separate meeting with the 
Ambassador, pledged his full support to the process.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The Brcko District Working Group, with 
representatives from the Council of Ministers (COM), the 
Brcko District Office (BDO) in Sarajevo, the Brcko District 
Final Award Office (BFAO), the Office of the High 
Representative (OHR) and the Embassy convened June 20-21. 
Assistant Legal Adviser Josh Dorosin facilitated the talks. 
The Working Group, established when Brcko Mayor Djapo and 
Prime Minister Terzic signed a pledge to the Secretary during 
Dayton Anniversary events in Washington, is a U.S. led 
process to assist in clarifying the relationship between the 
Brcko District and BiH institutions in a manner that will 
ensure appropriate representation for the Brcko District in 
state-level institutions, and that will allow the terms of 
the Final Award to be met so that the international 
supervisory regime may be ended.  As in the first round in 
February, the Working Group sought to identify political and 
legal mechanisms which would ensure appropriate 
representation for the Brcko District in state level decision 
making bodies. 
 
SLOW PROGRESS SINCE LAST WORKING GROUP 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Brcko District officials reported that, as per 
agreement in February, the Brcko District Office in Sarajevo 
had been established to increase cooperation between the 
state and Brcko District and that some progress was being 
made in addressing issues of interest to Brcko.  However, the 
BDO reported it has little support from the COM.  The BDO has 
proposed draft statutory language to legally enshrine the BDO 
in the COM by amending the Law on the Council of Ministers. 
To date it has received no response from the COM.  Parties 
also reported little progress since the May 25 meeting with 
the Ambassador toward naming liaisons between Parliament and 
the Brcko District Office, or improving Brcko's relationship 
with Parliament's Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee 
and the Finance Committee (reftel). 
 
WHAT BRCKO WANTS 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  Brcko District officials offered concrete examples 
of their lack of participation and authority in current state 
structures.  Brcko District wants voting rights in all state 
level bodies, and most crucially, in fiscal, financial and 
property decision making structures. For example, Brcko has 
been granted observer status in the Indirect Taxation 
Authority and the National Fiscal Council's Governing Board, 
but has no control over the decision-making processes of 
either body. (NOTE: A more detailed report on problems within 
the ITA and NFC will follow septel.)  Brcko is not mentioned 
in the BiH Constitution, and therefore cannot access the 
Constitutional Court or other legal remedies.  Brcko District 
also seeks representation in Parliament, including 
participation in the Constitutional and Legal Affairs 
Committee and the Finance Committee, as well as parliamentary 
voting rights. 
 
CONSENSUS ON A WAY FORWARD 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The parties agreed that constitutional amendments 
 
SARAJEVO 00001499  002 OF 002 
 
 
would be the ideal legal remedy to address these issues. 
However, they also recognized that this is likely 
unachievable in advance of upcoming national elections in 
October.  Drafting a national law to address Brcko's 
immediate concerns, with the intent of lobbying for 
constitutional changes post-election, is the politically 
realistic way to proceed, all agreed.  At Dorosin's 
suggestion, the group agreed to elements of a draft action 
plan.  The action plan (drafted by Dorosin and currently in 
circulation among the Working Group) summarizes the 
mechanisms the group agreed upon to further integrate Brcko 
District into key BiH executive and parliamentary structures. 
 The action plan also lays out a way forward for establishing 
a new law on the status of Brcko District, which the Working 
Group aims to draft by the end of August. 
 
¶6. (C) COMMENT.  Overall, the meeting was constructive and 
pragmatic.  OHR played a useful role and has pledged support 
and leadership on the more technical aspects of drafting a 
national law.  However, it is clear that there are still 
critical points of contention between the Brcko Final Award 
Office and OHR Headquarters.  The BFAO continues to assert 
that the Final Award will be violated if Brcko District is 
not given the right to consent to future and past transfers 
of competencies.  BFAO also maintains that Brcko should carry 
veto rights in state-level structures where voting members, 
acting on behalf of the entities, could together pass 
measures that would go against Brcko's interests.  OHR 
Headquarters still asserts that this interpretation of the 
right to consent makes Brcko a de facto third entity, and is 
therefore unacceptable.  While these divergent views may not 
prevent drafting of the national law from going forward, they 
likely will need to be resolved before parties can agree on 
constitutional language. 
 
¶7.  (C) COMMENT, CONT.  Hands-on USG involvement will remain 
key in driving this process forward.  The upcoming electoral 
season promises to be mean and divisive, and a national law 
on Brcko District could become a political football.  The law 
is a modest goal, but the USG and others will have to lobby 
hard to push it through in advance of the October elections. 
High level support from the Council of Ministers will also be 
essential.  Prime Minister Terzic subsequently told the 
Ambassador and visiting SCE Director English that he would 
fully support the  Action Plan, and expressed his belief that 
a national law was key to resolving many of the issues 
between Brcko and the state.  Ambassador and English 
pointedly noted that failing to send an appropriately 
empowered representative to the Working Group meeting had 
sent a poor signal of the PM's commitment.  We will need to 
maintain pressure for high-level public support from the 
Prime Minister, as well as increased COM engagement on the 
working level to move this process forward.  END COMMENT. 
 
¶8.  (U) This cable has been cleared by Josh Dorosin. 
MCELHANEY