European Training Foundation

1.1 Political contexts and EU integration Since 1995 and according to the Dayton-Paris Agreement1 the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has been divided into two political entities: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and Republika Srpska (RS), covering 51 % and 49 % of the territory, respectively. Each entity has its own political structure and administration. There is, in addition, the Brčko District, which was established after an arbitration process undertaken by the High Representative for BiH (1996). According to the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the High Representative is the final authority in BiH regarding interpretation of the implementation of the civilian aspects of the peace settlement. The BiH government consists of a Parliamentary Assembly, which is divided into a House of Representatives and a House of Peoples, a rotating tripartite Presidency (with a member from each of the constituent peoples, that is, Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs), and a Council of Ministers with nine ministries. The FBiH is politically structured in terms of three levels: entity, canton and municipality, with each municipality having its own municipal council and administrative structures. RS has only entity and municipal administration levels