EU diplomats clash with Trump administration over top Bosnia and Herzegovina post

The high representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina has overseen the deeply divided country’s communities ever since the end of the war in 1995. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images View image in fullscreen The high representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina has overseen the deeply divided country’s communities ever since the end of the war in 1995. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images EU diplomats clash with Trump administration over top Bosnia and Herzegovina post Diplomats in Sarajevo failed to agree on a candidate for the high representative role, which carries a lot of power and influence across the Balkans Diplomats from the US and Europe have been unable to resolve their differences and agree on a new top international envoy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in a standoff which has become a transatlantic test of wills over influence in the Balkans. A meeting in Sarajevo to select a new high representative, a post with far-reaching powers, ended without a compromise, in a spat that has undermined western cohesion in the region in the Trump era. All that was agreed on Tuesday was that the current high representative, German politician Christian Schmidt, should end his tenure immediately, as the US has been demanding , and his American deputy take on the role for two weeks pending a decision on a successor. In a statement on Tuesday evening the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) steering board said it was “committed to reaching agreement on the selection of a new high representative as soon as possible, with the goal of completing the appointment no later than 14 July 2026”. In recent months, US policy has prioritised the pursuit of advantage for US firms, and in particular a company run by associates of Donald Trump, while European powers have so far refused to yield to US demands, despite threats from Washington to cut off funding and participation in the international presence in Bosnia if its wishes are not fulfilled. The Balkan country has consequently become a testing ground for Europe’s capacity to unite and stand up to US Maga foreign policy in its own backyard. The major power contest could have far-reaching implications for Bosnia itself, which has functioned as an international protectorate since a war that ended more than 30 years ago with a settlement which has stopped the bloodshed, but also stifled political and economic development. Ambassadors from the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy and the EU, as well as envoys from Canada, Japan and Turkey, met in the Bosnian capital to make a second attempt to agree on a new high representative, after the first try broke up amid acrimony in early June. In the run-up to that initial meeting, the Trump administration had rattled European capitals by insisting that the current high representative be removed after he defied US wishes. Under a compromise with Germany, Schmidt was persuaded to resign, but would stay in his post until Bosnian elections in October. In recent weeks, however, the Trump administration