The Heads of Mission of the European Union Embassies in Bosnia and Herzegovina deeply regret the deliberate boycott by SNSD of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly House of People’s session on 29 July. As a result, the Law on Census of Population and Households was not voted on yesterday because of the lack of a quorum.

The delay in the adoption of this Law risks further isolating Bosnia and Herzegovina. There is now a real danger that the country will not take part in this vital exercise, which will be carried out in 2011 in all other European countries. The lack of reliable statistical data would have very serious implications for BiH’s social and economic development. It would also significantly impede BiH’s European integration process, depriving the country of the kind of accurate and up-to-date statistics which are essential in the context of EU accession negotiations and of maximising the uptake of pre-accession EU funding.

The Heads of Mission now appeal to all parties to engage urgently and constructively on this vital legislative priority, using the opportunity of the next scheduled session on 2 September. The political parties in BiH must demonstrate that they are serious and genuine about their stated commitment to move the country forward towards EU membership.