Today, on the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Dayton-Paris Peace Agreement in Paris (cf. this blog, 7.11.2005), the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) appointed the former international mediator for BH Christian Schwarz-Schilling (75) as the next High Representative. The former Christian Democratic telecommunications minister, former Parliamentarian and member of the human rights committee in the German Bundestag will succeed Paddy Ashdown at the end of January.

On Monday, the EU foreign ministers also agreed on the order of future EU presidencies for the coming 13 years (!). The presidencies of Austria, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, and Hungary will probably be the most focused on the Western Balkans. The Greek presidency in 2014 could be a good moment to sign the accession treaties of the Western Balkan states. During the last Greek Presidency in 2003 the EU was joined by 10 new members and the European Council adopted the Thessaloniki Agenda for the Western Balkans as well as a Joint Declaration between the EU and the Western Balkans countries at the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Thessaloniki on June 21.