A dispute between the United States and its European allies over the appointment of Bosnia & Herzegovina’s next international overseer has exposed widening transatlantic divisions over policy in the Western Balkans and prompted Washington to warn it could reconsider its role in the country's international governance framework.

The disagreement emerged after a June 3-4 meeting of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC), the international body responsible for overseeing implementation of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement, failed to agree on a successor to Christian Schmidt as high representative for Bosnia & Herzegovina.

The Office of the High Representative (OHR), created under the Dayton accords that ended Bosnia's 1992-95 war, holds sweeping powers to impose laws and dismiss officials deemed to be obstructing the peace process.

In a sharply worded statement following the meeting, the US embassy in Sarajevo expressed disappointment that the PIC had failed to appoint a new high representative and blamed European divisions for the deadlock.

"It was publicly and widely expected that at the June 3-4 meeting, the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) would select a new High Representative to provide stability for Bosnia and Herzegovina," the embassy said in a tweet.

Washington said it had worked to build support around Italy's nominee, veteran diplomat Antonio Zanardi Landi.

"The US delegation strove to achieve a consensus around a commonly shared vision and Italy's well-qualified candidate, the experienced diplomat Ambassador Antonio Zanardi Landi," the statement said.

It cited US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who described Landi to Congress as "a gentleman that we think would do a good job of helping provide some stability to that position”. 

The embassy added that the US was "disappointed" that European governments had failed to unite behind a candidate.

"European indecisiveness, and the PIC's abdication of its own duty toward BiH, is forcing the United States to reconsider our role in the current international presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina," the statement said.

European Union member states represented on the PIC Steering Board rejected suggestions of paralysis and said they remained committed to selecting a successor by the end of June.

In a statement issued through the EU Delegation, member states said that, in line with established practice, the next High Representative should come from an EU member state.

"We are determined to continue working and bringing positions closer together around a candidate who, as an integrative figure, is capable of cooperating with all actors involved in the implementation of the High Representative's mandate, including domestic stakeholders," the statement said, as quoted by N1.

The EU also stressed that it valued cooperation with Washington and other international partners within the PIC framework and reaffirmed its commitment to Bosnia's stability, security and territorial integrity, as well as its path towards eventual EU membership.

The dispute comes at a sensitive moment for Bosnia, where political tensions remain high nearly three decades after the Dayton agreement ended a war that killed around 100,000 people.

Political analyst Jasmin Mujanović said the failure to agree on a successor reflected a combination of American miscalculation, European disunity and a lack of strategic engagement by Bosnia's own political leadership.

"The US insisted on Christian Schmidt's resignation before they had secured the buy-in of the other relevant allies for a successor," Mujanović wrote on X, arguing that Washington had underestimated European concerns over recent US policy toward both Bosnia and Europe.

He was equally critical of European governments, saying that "the European culture of passivity continues to be a cancer eating away at the core of any sense of a 'geopolitical' EU”. 

Mujanović argued that while Washington had at least advanced a candidate and policy agenda, European governments had struggled to develop a common position. "The Europeans were incapable of identifying a joint candidate until just a few days ago," he said.

At the same time, he said Bosnian political leaders had failed to take advantage of disagreements among international actors to shape policy outcomes in their own interests.

"For better or for worse, BiH still needs the OHR," Mujanović said. "For it to function effectively and for it to cease its operations in line with the 5+2 Agenda requires a far greater degree of alignment between Atlanticist forces - American, European, and Bosnian alike."

The PIC is expected to revisit the appointment later this month as diplomats seek a compromise capable of bridging the increasingly visible gap between Washington and its European partners.