Following the general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, European Union officials called for the swift formation of a government and the continuation of reforms. However, there is no guarantee that this will happen, despite announcements by some election winners that consultations with potential partners would begin without delay.
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s European path was not among the priorities of all political entities during the election campaign. After citizens went to the polls on October 4, political leaders began sending messages regarding future coalitions and courses of action.
HDZ BiH President Dragan Čović stated that the European path would be one of the priorities in talks on government formation.
“Our European path will be a priority for any partner with whom we enter government. We will not rush into things at all, and, of course, the issue of the election law will be addressed right from the start.”
SDA President Bakir Izetbegović also emphasized a commitment to European and Euro-Atlantic integration.
“We already have defined courses of action, and we will not abandon them regarding NATO and the EU. I think it is time for politicians from Republika Srpska to come to their senses – regardless of the spectacular result -because they are gradually wearing the people down.”
However, messages coming from Republika Srpska call into question the possibility of rapid progress. SNSD President Milorad Dodik assessed that the European path is being used as a means of political pressure on that entity. “We understood that the supposed European path was an anti-Serb path. That under the guise of European integration, the Republika Srpska wanted to disintegrate and create a unitary Bosnia and Herzegovina. Therefore, in order to talk to us, you must first clean up all the mess you have made, remove all the anomalies you have produced.”
The Prime Minister of the Republika Srpska Savo Minić stated that this entity is interested in membership in the European Union, but that it will not accept political conditions that it considers unacceptable for the Republika Srpska.
“We are leaning on it, we want in the EU and the part that is factual, that we go there, but the moment when these are political conditions that cost RS, of course we will turn the negotiations in a way that can only be done if RS has its own sovereignty that has the Dayton Peace Agreement.”
Professor Šaćir Filandra believes that a more serious approach to political partners, with the strong support of Brussels and the European neighborhood, could be decisive for the progress of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Political analyst Tanja Topić warns that the rule of law is one of the biggest challenges for political structures in BiH and that the question remains whether the new government will choose the European path or continue with the policy of Euroscepticism.
“We had one such transformation of Milorad Dodik when everyone gave him recognition and pointed out that there would not have been any attempts on the EU path if there had been no SNSD, and then the whole path was stopped. Will this change happen now in Milorad Dodik’s mind, I think he is the only one who knows the answer to that question.”
The interlocutors warn that European integration in BiH was not a consistent political goal, and that the consequences of such a relationship are felt by citizens, from education and available opportunities to the labor market.
