EUROPEAN UNION HOPES TO SIGN SAA WITH BOSNIA IN MARCH OR APRIL

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (February 26,2008) - The European Union hopes to sign the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with Bosnia in March or April, as soon as the Southeastern European country completes an overdue police reform, the bloc's president Slovenia said.

The Bosnian Foreign Minister Sven Alkalaj said the reform of Bosnia's ethnically separate police forces would be completed in March.

Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel told a joint news conference with Alkalaj the EU was ready to sign the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with Bosnia immediately after that.

Bosnia initialed the SAA, the first rung on the ladder to EU membership, in December.

Alkalaj rejected threat of the Serbians living in Bosnia to hold a referendum on secession from Bosnia if the majority of U.N. member states and the European Union recognize Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia on February 17.

"According to the Dayton agreement, no part of Bosnia has the right to secede," said Alkalaj.

The Dayton agreement ended the 1992-95 Serbian,Montenegrin and Croatian aggressions against Bosnia.

Alkalaj said Bosnia was not likely to recognize independent Kosovo at present.
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