Member of Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Milorad Dodik met with the European Commissioner for Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi in Brussels yesterday, and after the meeting he gave a statement to the media in which he commented on the decision of the Constitutional Court of BiH on the suspension of the Law on Medicines and Medical Devices of the Republika Srpska (RS).
Dodik said that in BiH, healthcare and the sale of medicines are under the jurisdiction of the entities, and that the decision of the Constitutional Court of BiH is unconstitutional.
“There is no constitutional basis for that, because the jurisdiction of the circulation of medicines lies with the entities,” said Dodik, reports RTRS.
He called the Constitutional Court of BiH “inquisitional”, and announced that the RS will continue to fight for its constitutional position.
“The Constitutional Court is an inquisitional court. There are two foreign judges and three Bosniaks who always vote against the interests of the RS. If you want a country that is a candidate for the European Union (EU), it must not be governed by foreigners,” Dodik said, adding that he is against the very values of the EU.
In addition, he spoke about the meeting with Varhelyi stating that they discussed the reforms that BiH needs to get closer to the EU.
“The next issue is the state of public procurement, as well as the law on conflict of interest and the issue of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) of BiH. If these issues were resolved, the European Council would grant candidate status,” said Dodik, stating that he would advocate for the resolution of public procurement issues and courts.
He thanked Varhelyi for his willingness to clarify the EU’s position on granting candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova, but not to BiH. However, he states that it remains unclear whether BiH must fulfill all 14 points or if there will be flexibility if an agreement is not reached on some point.
