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saved byProf. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 2008-04-17

• EU officials on Wednesday hailed Bosnia's
  adoption of long-disputed police reforms, saying it opened the way for
  the Baltic state to sign the first accord on the way to European Union
  membership.

  
  

  "I welcome the final adoption of the police reform
  laws, which paves the way towards signing the Stabilisation and
  Association Agreement (SAA)," EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn
  said in a statement.

  
  

  The SAA trade and aid pact "will not only
  bring practical benefits in trade and thus for the economy of Bosnia
  and Herzegovina, but it is also the gateway towards candidate country
  status for EU accession," Rehn added.

• Earlier
  Wednesday lawmakers in Bosnia's upper house definitively adopted the
  police reforms, removing the last hurdle for the country to sign the
  key pact on closer EU ties.

  
  

  Two police reform bills passed by 10
  to four votes, ending years of dispute among Bosnia's Croat, Muslim and
  Serb leaders about the extent to which they should integrate the
  country's separate ethnic police forces.

  
  

  The lower house of the Bosnian parliament approved the reforms last week.