The Speaker of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kemal Ademović, told reporters that another session of that house, scheduled in accordance with the Rules of Procedure, was not held. The session could not be held due to the lack of a quorum, because three delegates from the SNSD were not present today either.
– Here you can see the European path of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the responsibility towards that European path and the citizens. One thing is said, another is done. The reason for not attending this session is the agenda, which included items – two European laws and one law that MONEYVAL is expecting. The Working Group meeting in Brussels is on May 5. If we do not submit this law, it is quite certain that Bosnia and Herzegovina will go on the MONEYVAL grey list – said Ademović.
He added that all other bickering falls within the pre-election campaign.
– In the future, I will try to make an analysis of both what was promised and what was said for individual sessions. So, I’m talking about inconsistency, but ultimately this is the attitude of individual delegates or individual parties towards the European path of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is obvious that they are blocking it, and this primarily applies to the SNSD, because today we had a quorum in both the Croat Club and the Bosniak Club, which we always have. However, only one delegate from the Serb Club was missing – stated Ademović.
Špirić: Ademović has taken the lead of the opposition today
The Deputy Speaker of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, Nikola Špirić, who, together with two other delegates from the SNSD, prevented the work of the House of Peoples by not coming to the session, appeared before the press and said that the Speaker of the House of Peoples, Kemal Ademović, “today took the lead of the opposition and practically turned this house into a forum for political parties”.
According to him, the first item on the agenda today should have been an item that conflicts with the Law on the Indirect Tax System.
– We are not against discussing the Law on Excise Duties when it is equipped with the necessary opinions of the Management Board of the Indirect Taxation Administration – said Špirić.
Pendeš: I came to warn about the violation of the Rules of Procedure
Delegate Marina Pendeš (HDZ BiH) said that she came to today’s session of the House of Peoples to warn about the violation of the Rules of Procedure.
– I have read the items and articles of the Rules of Procedure of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, which obligate both the members of the Collegium and all of us to ensure a quorum, define the agenda and hold sessions. In this sense, I continue to warn. It is also not clear to me that someone accepted that, even though there is no quorum, they expect there to be minutes and a transcript of what someone said. I think that is not correct and that this is an additional violation of the Rules of Procedure – stated Pendeš.
Miletić: We will schedule a new session
Delegate Zlatko Miletić said that he had agreed with his colleagues, individual delegates, to schedule a new session of the House of Peoples again in the next few days.
Given the conflicting opinions in the context of the Rules of Procedure, he explained that under Articles 57 and 58 of the Rules of Procedure, a group of delegates – five or more, has the right to request an emergency session at any time, with any items on the agenda.
– In this sense, the Collegium is represented only by our service. So let’s resolve this dilemma of whether there is a legal basis for it or not. As you can see, these gentlemen are still not coming and as I said, I see all this, but now it is quite certain, as the overthrow of the constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina. I think that in this way they are blocking all institutions, not only the House of Peoples – said Miletić.
He added that the group of delegates who are requesting the scheduling of sessions of the House of Peoples will remain persistent on this path and will do “all this until the gentlemen deign to come to one session, and then we will see the points they propose, how they think they will be adopted, in what way and what will happen at these ‘their’ sessions”.
Nešković: Čović did not allow SNSD delegates to attend
Delegate Želimir Nešković (SDS) stated that he was sorry that “Dragan Čović did not allow SNSD delegates to attend today’s session of this high house”.
– Nikola Špirić would be better off acting as a member of the Serb caucus in the House of Peoples, and not as an associate member of the Croat caucus in this high house. The SNSD delegates, led by Dragan Čović, unfortunately, by their absence did not allow a quorum to be held for today’s session at which we were supposed to discuss excise taxes on fuel, the Armed Forces of BiH, a better status for people employed in BiH institutions, primarily their salaries, salary increases, and the electricity regulator, which is why we have been under European Union sanctions for four full months and, at this pace, we will practically not be able to lift these sanctions until after the general elections, or the creation of a new government at the level of BiH – said Nešković.
He added that he was ashamed of their shame, “because we do not have the kind of situation we have today in the House of Peoples, which is the embodiment of the inaction of the institutions of BiH, anywhere in the countries of our region and on the territory of Europe”.
– It is a shame that today we cannot resolve the burning issue in BiH, which is excise taxes on fuel, when the price of a liter of Eurodiesel is four KM, when farmers wonder every day how they will even manage to push through both sowing and harvesting. This is unbearable for the economy in both the RS and the Federation of BiH, and in BiH in general. I call on my colleagues from the SNSD to come to their senses, to break free from the jaws of the HDZ and Dragan Čović and to simply start working in the interests of the Serbian people in BiH, in the interests of the RS, and all the laws on today’s agenda are in the interests of the citizens of RS, in the interests of the Serbian people, of whom I am a legitimate representative – said Nešković.
Magazinović: Excise Tax Law has been waiting for 42 days
MP in the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliament Saša Magazinović (SDPBiH), who is the proposer of the amendments to the Excise Tax Law in BiH, which was supposed to be on the agenda of the House of Peoples today, stated that the task of both MPs and delegates is to be at work, to vote, to propose laws and initiatives.
– There were several laws on today’s agenda that, due to obstruction, primarily by the SNSD, and often joined by the HDZ, have been waiting for a longer period of time. The amendment to the Public Procurement Law has been waiting for 319 days since its adoption in the House of Representatives. The same applies to the Criminal Code, a law that should put those who steal public money in prison. The Law on Arrogant Driving, which should remove murderers from the road, has been waiting for 194 days since its adoption in the House of Representatives. The third law on today’s agenda, the Excise Tax Law, has been waiting for 42 days. Fuel was 2.4 KM, now it’s almost four KM – said Magazinović, Fena news agency writes.
