The report on the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) will again be before the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs on April 20th. Nothing positive in six chapters. The institutions are working slowly on the process of joining the European Union (EU), says the rapporteur, and we would say – they are not working at all.
There are two main obstacles to progress in meeting the 14 priorities, the report said. The first is the blockade of state institutions by Republika Srpska (RS) politicians, primarily Milorad Dodik. Denial of genocide, discriminatory secessionist rhetoric, and moves in this direction were assessed as very worrying and threatening to the constitutional order of BiH. That is why the Report suggests that the EU should follow the example of the United States (U.S.).
”Call on the EU and the international community to use all available means, including targeted sanctions, against destabilizing actors in the country.”
Another major obstacle is the failure of negotiations on electoral reform in the Federation. Thus, the problem of electoral reform is directly addressed to the Federation. Why this is the case is not clear because it was mentioned that 400.000 BiH citizens have been denied basic rights due to systemic discrimination based on ethnicity or place of residence, and this applies to the whole of BiH. It is unclear then why the term ‘constitutive’ found its place in the last EU Strategic Document. However, it is interesting that the EU is aware of systemic abuses and manipulations during the election process.
“The importance of holding elections this year as planned is emphasized. Reforms must eliminate systematic misuse of administrative resources, the vulnerability of electoral bodies, and vote manipulation and vote-buying.”
The EU continues to provide technical and financial support to BiH, but that support is strictly conditional and will be modulated if we do not make progress on basic reforms, the rapporteur warns.
”Urges BiH’s political actors to make progress in the reforms needed to bring the country closer to the EU; condemns all attempts to delay these reforms, which jeopardize access to EU funds through the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance 3, which must be based on strict conditions and depend on the cooperation of different levels of government.”
Independent judiciary, rule of law and anti-corruption fight, war crimes prosecution, new energy and environmental laws, freeing the media from political pressure, educational reform for an inclusive society and abolishing two schools under one roof, aligning foreign and security policy with EU policies are just some of the areas in which BiH has a lot to do. However, despite this, the Report states:
”This is a call for the EU to take concrete steps to integrate the Western Balkans and BiH in a broader strategic and security context, also given Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the destabilizing impact of disinformation and malicious interference on the country and region.”
The goal, as stated, is a smooth transition from Dayton to Brussels. And even according to the Report itself, it is clear that nothing is going smoothly here.
E.Dz.
