Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is expecting a decision by the European Council this month on the opening of negotiations, but the date of the Intergovernmental Conference at which it would become official is uncertain. Milorad Dodik points out that a decision without a date means nothing, but we cannot get a date until we fulfill all the conditions already set.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, during her visit to BiH a few months ago, publicly articulated 3 + 1 requirements that we need to fulfill in order to open negotiations. We have so far adopted the agreement with Frontex, passed the Law on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing and adopted the Law on Prevention of Conflict of Interest. However, the Law on Courts remains controversial, and without it we will not get a date for the Intergovernmental Conference.
Therefore, the date of the Intergovernmental Conference, which Dodik is requesting from the European Union (EU), is not possible until domestic politicians have agreed at least on the Law on Courts.
Namely, the SNSD and the parties from the Republika Srpska (RS) gathered in the ruling coalition in that entity demand that the High Court, which would be formed by the new law, be located in Banja Luka, while the parties of the Coalition of Three demand that the court be in Istocno Sarajevo. The international community also expressed its arguments, emphasizing that it is more practical for the High Court to be in East Sarajevo.
An expert in European law and former chief advisor to the negotiating team of the Government of Serbia, Vladimir Medjak, points out that it is impossible to know when the Intergovernmental Conference will take place because it is about processes that are conducted in “unknown waters” and in which there is no precedent, but he explains that one thing is certain – we will not open negotiations until we meet the conditions already set.
“You are left with the Law on Courts, you have a list and when you fulfill it, then there is no reason for someone to say ‘I don’t want the Intergovernmental Conference, that is important and it is up to you… You should not receive additional conditions after the decision in March, when you fulfill the existing ones you will open negotiations, but that cannot be guaranteed. It is up to you to fulfill, and it is up to them to make a political decision to fix it. The decision is political, but it is up to you to beat all the arguments to those who are against it and make it easier for those who advocate for you to enter,” said Medjak.
The process we are in is conducted in such a way that the European Council makes a decision on the opening of negotiations and schedules an Intergovernmental Conference. Then the EU presents the Negotiating Framework, which represents the way in which it will conduct negotiations with us, after which the screening process begins. However, as Medjak explains, this is not necessarily the case.
Medjak advises to start the screening process before getting the key date
“They did a reshuffle there, since it is obvious that the process is stretching a bit, that you cannot get a date on the same day when the Council makes a decision on opening negotiations. It does not follow the date, as it followed in the case of North Macedonia. In 2022, they received a decision to open negotiations and scheduled an intergovernmental conference the next day, but the point is that in North Macedonia and Albania, the first part of the explanatory screening obligations was done in 2019, because they were supposed to open negotiations then, but then France at the last moment hitchhiked to the meeting,” he stated.
The former negotiating adviser of Serbia thus concludes that the order is not synchronized as before, but that regardless of that there are steps that BiH can take to speed up the negotiation process, and that is to start screening before the Intergovernmental Conference at which they officially entered into negotiations.
“It would be good to get a decision on the opening of negotiations now in March so that you can start planning with screening because that means state administration reform, legislative planning and the like. It means a lot for Bosnia internally to organize, so the Intergovernmental Conference can come even six months later. Why lose those six months when screening lasts a year, you don’t have to wait for the formal Intergovernmental Conference, Klix.ba writes.
E.Dz.
