Bosnian Serb Nebojsa Radmanovic on Thursday took over the chairmanship of Bosnia's rotating state tripartite presidency for the next eight months, said reports reaching here from the Bosnian capital Sarajevo.

Radmanovic, who took over from the Muslim representative Haris Silajdzic, said his priority would be to intensify Bosnia's drive to join the European Union and to improve relations with its neighbors -- Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro, the Bosnian news agency FENA reported.

Under the Dayton peace agreement that ended Bosnia's 1992-1995 civil war, the Bosnian presidency rotates every eight months among Muslim, Serb and Croat representatives, who are appointed for four years.

Silajdzic said he was pleased with what Bosnia had accomplished on the foreign policy front during his chairmanship, citing the signing of a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the European Union in June as the most important achievement.

The presidency ratified the SAA at yesterday's session.

The SAA, if properly implemented, is regarded as the first rungon the long path towards eventual membership of the 27-member bloc. The agreement was approved by both houses of Bosnia's parliament in October.

Silajdzic said that the country was also progressing well on the path to NATO membership.

"We're expecting a Membership Action Plan, which is the last step before we receive an invitation for full membership," he said.