The Peace Implementation Council (PIC) steering board met in Sarajevo on Tuesday but failed to agree on a new high representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, deepening a transatlantic rift. The only consensus was that the current high representative, German politician Christian Schmidt, must leave immediately, with his American deputy Louis Crishock taking over temporarily for two weeks. The board committed to appointing a successor by 14 July 2026.
US pressures Europe over envoy selection
The Trump administration had demanded Schmidt's removal after he defied US wishes, and earlier this year had persuaded Germany to accept Schmidt's resignation after Bosnia's October elections. However, Washington reneged and insisted on his immediate departure, which was achieved on Tuesday. Kurt Bassuener of the Democratization Policy Council said: "This was involuntary. This was not Schmidt leaving of his own accord. This was the Americans kicking him out."
US officials have been aggressively campaigning for 76-year-old Italian diplomat Antonio Zanardi Landi to replace Schmidt, a choice that bewildered most PIC members. Landi has no significant experience in Bosnia, though he once served in Serbia. He is currently the Sovereign Military Order of Malta's ambassador to the Vatican. Landi told the Guardian it would be "unwise for me to step into the heated debate" but argued his manifesto was "perfectly in line with the European positions."
Gas pipeline deal at heart of standoff
European officials suspect the US manoeuvring is linked to a $1bn gas pipeline contract, the Southern Interconnection, provisionally awarded to AAFS Infrastructure and Energy, a US company with ties to Donald Trump. The Trump administration recently announced a new Balkans policy prioritizing "direct return" for American companies over "open-ended institution building." Former US diplomat Jim O'Brien wrote on the European Council for Foreign Relations website that the policy "reflected what is already happening in the region" as "politically connected Americans seek to earn money by weakening international institutions." He added: "This behaviour undermines the peace that has held for 30 years."
The pipeline deal, awarded without tender, prompted an EU warning that it could jeopardise Bosnia's European integration. Landi's manifesto, seen by the Guardian, promises not to overturn previous high representative decrees, consult the PIC before major actions, and not unilaterally close the Office of the High Representative. However, it does not mention state property—a key issue for the pipeline. An AAFS official reportedly briefed Bosnian parliamentarians that the property issue would be resolved if Landi took over.
European resistance and compromise candidates
London, Paris, and Berlin were unconvinced by Landi and aligned behind French candidate René Troccaz, France's Balkans envoy. Germany proposed Danish diplomat Peter Sørensen as a compromise. Senior EU officials agreed to Schmidt's deputy Louis Crishock as interim, potentially strengthening Washington's position if no successor is agreed in two weeks. The standoff has exposed Europe's difficulty in presenting a united front against US pressure.
Bosnia's fragile peace and ethnic divisions
The dispute underscores how Bosnia remains defined by the 1992-95 war, which killed 100,000 people, mostly Muslim Bosniaks. The US-brokered Dayton peace deal created a Bosniak-Croat Federation and a Serb-run Republika Srpska, but ethnic politics still dominate. The Office of the High Representative, established to oversee the agreement and promote integration, has largely failed. Republika Srpska remains under the sway of separatist Milorad Dodik.
Schmidt last year annulled Dodik's separatist actions, leading to his ousting in September, but the Trump administration later lifted sanctions on Dodik imposed by the Biden administration. Donald Trump Jr visited Banja Luka, and Dodik approved the Southern Interconnection pipeline. The US had threatened to reconsider its "role in the current international presence" if Landi was not appointed.
