The European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, on Friday persuaded the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, to give up on the implementation of a referendum which was supposed to challenge the existence of Bosnia's State Court and Office of the Prosecutor.
"The decision on the referendum will be withdrawn and talks with the European Union will continue," Dodik said after meeting Ashton in Banja Luka.
Ashton arrived in Bosnia together with the Managing Director for Europe and Central Asia in the EU's External Action Service, Miroslav Lajcak. Apart from Dodik, the meeting in Banja Luka was attended by many senior Bosnian Serb officials.
Dodik said he was giving up on the referendum because he received assurances that talks on a serious reorganisation of the Bosnian judiciary would soon be launched.
He said this was an important step and the beginning of dialogue on Bosnia's judiciary.
Ashton said the EU hailed Dodik's decision to abandon the referendum plan. She stressed that her sudden arrival in Bosnia showed how much the European Union cared for the country, confirming the EU's readiness to contribute to the analysis of the work of Bosnian judicial bodies so that it could be improved.
Dodik has been threatening to hold the referendum since March. Its announcement has led to the most serious conflict between him and the international community so far.
