US and European diplomats continue standoff over top Bosnia and Herzegovina post

European powers resist Trump administration’s pick for high representative after incumbent pushed out Diplomats from the US and Europe have been unable to resolve their differences and agree on a new top international envoy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in a standoff which has become a transatlantic test of wills over influence in the Balkans. A meeting in Sarajevo to select a new high representative, a post with far-reaching powers, ended without a compromise, in a spat that has undermined western cohesion in the region in the Trump era. All that was agreed on Tuesday was that the current high representative, the German politician Christian Schmidt, should end his tenure immediately, as the US has been demanding, and his American deputy take on the role for two weeks pending a decision on a successor. In a statement on Tuesday evening the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) steering board said it was “committed to reaching agreement on the selection of a new high representative as soon as possible, with the goal of completing the appointment no later than 14 July 2026”. In recent months, US policy has prioritised the pursuit of advantage for US firms, and in particular a company run b