Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) received the worst review in the European Commission’s (EC) report on the situation in the country. It is worrying that none of the main political leaders reacted to the allegations in the report. Europe has listed the problems, but it is unknown whether it will be more actively involved in solving these problems or will all, as before, be reduced to warnings that something needs to be done.
The situation in BiH is catastrophic and that is not news for the citizens of BiH. Not for Europe either, but they confirmed it to us in writing. When it comes to the enlargement package for the next year, we are far from that. Grade – 1.
“The report is negative, and it should have been even worse,” emphasized Nerzuk Curak, a professor at the Faculty of Political Science of the University of Sarajevo (UNSA).
Can it get any worse? Fulfilling 14 key tasks is a priority, our politicians will say, but the situation in practice is far from that. The weak performance of the legislature and the executive due to political polarization and pandemics, and they warn us that the BiH Constitution violates the Convention on Human Rights despite the verdicts in the Sejdic and Finci case. There is also no progress in improving the electoral framework according to theEuropean standards. Europe has made it known that we are falling behind, but how much is the reluctance of our government institutions to the benefit of Europe itself?
“This report is a great reason for the European Union (EU) to continue to find an explanation and explain to itself that it does not want enlargement, that it does not want these countries to join the EU, which is obvious because it is not known when enlargement will happen,” noted Zijad Becirovic, a director of the International Institute For Middle East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES).
“You saw that we are in the fifth place when it comes to organized crime. What a fortune. Here we are in the lead, not in the lead for anything good, and that is why we remain a captured state of quasi-democracy and remain poor, which only suits the elites. We wonder how long will it last,” told Svetlana Cenic, an economic analyst.
And then what to expect? Does Europe have any desire or capacity to offer solutions to the political devastation in BiH? If not solutions, then some kind of restrictions or sanctions for those who hinder the progress of our state.
“Sanctions are in the interest of Europe and it is being intensively discussed in cooperation with the U.S., some countries are blocking it, but there may be sanctions from the U.S. and key EU countries, which is quite enough, although not for EU-wide sanctions for some officials from BiH, ” Zijad Becirovic mentioned.
A special part of the Report was related to the migrant crisis. So, in addition to not helping ourselves, we are not helping others. The authorities failed and did not establish a sustainable migration system, and as an epilogue, we had a humanitarian crisis last year. That is why they pointed out to us that better coordination of entities and cantons in migration management is necessary.
E.Dz.
Source: BHRT
