• following judgements by the Constitutional Court on possible changes to the Entities' constitutions to bring them in line with the Bosnia and Herzegovina Constitution, to protect the rights of all the constituent peoples;
• promoting civil society and the growth of the voluntary sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

13. The outer ring -- a more secure Bosnia and Herzegovina: We also intend to strengthen the 'outer ring' of the country by:

• working, in cooperation with SFOR and the OSCE, with the armed forces and Entity and State governments to maintain military stability, increase  cooperation and confidence between the Entity Armed Forces, nurture stronger joint military institutions, reduce defence expenditure, increase professionalism, and remove the military from inappropriate involvement in the political process;
• taking steps together with the Presidency and the Entities towards establishing a common security policy and a State dimension for defence. As part of this, the Standing Committee on Military Matters (SCMM) is to be strengthened with respect to the Constitution;
• working and cooperating fully with the OSCE in Article II confidence-building measures and working closely with relevant security institutions and organisations;
• establishing a Bosnia and Herzegovina Border Service at the state level with the appropriate legal foundation to control the frontiers of the country, as envisaged in the Peace Agreement. This force might in due course also carry out other work, such as drug enforcement, diplomatic protection and protection of state buildings, and investigation work as a partner to Europol and Interpol;
• pressing for faster progress in establishing normal and legitimate relations without preconditions with Bosnia and Herzegovina's neighbours, with clearly demarcated borders and full respect for Bosnia and Herzegovina's territorial sovereignty;
• working with the parties to reinforce the progress made in CSBM and arms control and to conclude, as quickly as possible, a further agreement enhancing regional security and reduction of military resources, in line with Annex lB of the Peace Agreement.

14. As well as strengthening Bosnia and Herzegovina internally and externally,  we agreed to work to strengthen ties between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Europe. We all share the aspirations of the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the country to integrate more closely with the European family of nations and institutions. Europe is Bosnia and Herzegovina's future. We welcome the European Union's intention to develop further its relations with BiH in the political and economic fields, which will contribute to the stability of the country and the cooperation of the parties in BiH.We will also promote closer ties with Europe by working to ensure that Bosnia and Herzegovina meets the standards for Council of Europe membership in time for it to be in a position to

<5>