At a meeting on 13 May 2011, High Representative Ashton secured a commitment from Milorad Dodik that a decision by the Republika Srpska national assembly to hold a referendum in mid-June on the work of Bosnia and Herzegovina's state court and prosecutor's office would be repealed. Subsequently, on 2 June 2011, the Republika Srpska national assembly voted to repeal the decision to hold the referendum. I welcome this development. Following High Representative Ashton's discussions with political leaders in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a structured dialogue between the European Commission and Bosnia and Herzegovina on justice issues was established, within the framework of the EU's Stabilisation and Association Process. This dialogue provides a forum in which concerns about justice issues can be discussed. The first meeting of the structured dialogue took place in Banja Luka on 6-7 June 2011, with Enlargement Commissioner tefan Füle leading the EU delegation and Minister of Justice Bari a Colak the Bosnia and Herzegovina delegation. The meeting took place in a positive and constructive atmosphere, with all sides agreeing that respect for the Dayton agreement was a prerequisite for the dialogue.
It is important that political leaders in the region — in their actions and words — work to support efforts to achieve progress in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I am pleased to note that President Boris Tadic of Serbia welcomed the agreement reached by High Representative Ashton with Milorad Dodik to repeal the decision to hold the referendum. President Tadic has consistently stated that Serbia fully respects the Dayton peace agreement and the territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
It is also important to acknowledge the significant developments we have seen in terms of reconciliation between Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In March 2010 Serbia's parliament passed a declaration condemning the Srebrenica massacre and apologising to the families of the victims. In the same month, Bosnia and Herzegovina appointed an Ambassador to Serbia after a three-year hiatus. This was followed by a joint visit by the Serbian and Croatian Presidents to Bosnia and Herzegovina in July 2010 to attend a commemoration to mark the 15th anniversary the Srebrenica massacre. On 27 April 2011, the leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Turkey held their second trilateral summit, where they agreed to assist each others' efforts towards joining the EU and to work together to deal with the prejudices of the past.
Most recently, the arrest on 26 May 2011 of former Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic by the Serbian authorities, and his swift transfer to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague on 31 May 2011, represented an important step in addressing the appalling atrocities committed during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s. His trial in The Hague will help to further the cause of true reconciliation in the Western Balkans region.
There will be a discussion on the Western Balkans at the Foreign Affairs Council on 20 June. I look forward to that discussion and to reports by High Representative Ashton on her recent visits to region.