Croatian Foreign Minister Vesna Pusić, praised with the meeting in Berlin, at which the British and German foreign ministers supported the creation of a new European policy towards BiH which was, as Pusić claims, initiated by Croatia earlier this year. Germany and the United Kingdom were waiting for the completion of the electoral process in Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to come out with a new pro-European initiative for this country, Vecernji.ba reported in its analysis. Heads of diplomacy, Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Phil Hammond, presented a plan by which the newly elected BiH leaders would commit in a written statement to implement institutional reforms at all levels of government, which are designed to make it more functional and allow its efficient work with the EU, and accept the commitment of the EU to agree on a road map for a broad reform agenda through which Bosnia and Herzegovina would move forward on the path to EU including the implementation of the Copenhagen criteria.
Positive reactions
If BiH authorities fulfill these requirements, i.e. commit to reforms, Germany and the United Kingdom will ask from the EU to finally enforce the Stabilisation and Association Agreement. After BiH starts practically implementing the commitments, the EU would call on the authorities in Sarajevo to submit an application for a candidacy status for EU membership, and the moment the reforms are implemented the EU would approve BiH the candidate status. EU foreign ministers should discuss this plan November 17 at a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC), and Steinmeier and Hammond are hoping to get support from the other 26 European counterparts. Initial reactions suggest that there will be no lack in support. The State Department immediately supported through their spokeswoman Jen Psaki the German-British plan. Also the EU High Representative and Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini spoke, saying that the initiative comes at the right time.
“So far, the EU and its international partners have done a lot to help the country and help in overcoming challenges, but a new spirit is needed in the effective implementation of reforms that are crucial not only for the European path of BiH, but most importantly, for the citizens,” said Mogherini announcing her imminent arrival in Sarajevo. Also the first reaction in BiH to the German-British initiative have been very positive. For RS President Milorad Dodik, who has been often criticized by Brussels, any initiative that would lead to BiH’s movement towards the EU is good, if it upholds the constitutional order in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Dayton Agreement and the right to decision-making at different levels of government.
“For us, any such initiative is acceptable, regardless of the destination we are moving to being very distant and uncertain,” said Dodik.
First test – the government
However, before any concrete steps are taken to implement the plan, it is necessary to form the government at all levels in BiH. Actually, a rapid establishment of government will be the first test of the readiness of BiH politicians to unblock the European course of the country. All winning parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina say that their priority is BiH’s path towards the EU. As for the EU, it seems to be willing, at least at this stage, to give up the ultimate claim that BiH adopts the “Sejdić – Finci ruling”, i.e. to change the Dayton Constitution and to equialize the election rights of minorities with the rights of constituent peoples.
(Source: ekapija)
