WELCOME BY MR MEVLÜT ÇAVUŞOĞLU, PRESIDENT

OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY,

TO AMBASSADOR WOLFGANG PETRITSCH, FORMER HIGH REPRESENTATIVE FOR BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

(Strasbourg, Thursday 28 January 2010, 16 h00, Hemicycle)

I am very pleased to welcome Ambassador Wolfgang Petritsch for a contribution to this debate.

Ambassador Petritsch is currently Austria’s permanent representative to the OECD. In the past, he has held various ambassador’s positions, namely to the Specialised UN Agencies in Geneva, to the World Trade Organisation and to the Conference on Disarmament. Also, from 1997 to 1999, Mr Petritsch served as Austria’s Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. During this tenure, he was appointed Special Envoy of the European Union for Kosovo and EU Chief Negotiator at the Kosovo Peace Agreement talks at Rambouillet and Paris.

Ambassador Petritsch, today we would like to benefit in particular from your experience as a former High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is an office which was provided for in the Dayton Peace Agreement and which you held between 1999 and 2002.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country which has managed to restitute 200,000 homes to individuals. During your period as High Representative, you actively championed return and restitution issues and your engagement was crucial in Bosnia ultimately emerging as somewhat of a model in this respect.

Ambassador Petritsch, thank you for sharing with us your experience. You have the floor.