The representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) should present to the European Commission in March how far they have progressed on the way to the European Union (EU). Based on this, the Council of Europe will decide on the opening of accession negotiations for BiH. Can the ruling coalition at the BiH level adopt the given reforms in this short time and are they key to getting the green light?
BiH is well on its way to entering the negotiations for accession to the EU in March. The report of the European Commission stated that out of 14 key priorities for joining the EU, only two have been fulfilled. Among the key tasks until March are the areas of the fight against corruption and election integrity, as well as priority laws.
“As far as the state services are concerned, it is the program for the integration of BiH into the EU, it is a planning and strategic document that the state services should do. As for politics, it is the law on preventing conflicts of interest at the state level, the law on courts, on electronic signature,” says Elvira Habota, director of the Directorate for European Integration of BiH.
Political analyst Zarko Puhovski is convinced that the decision on BiH does not depend on what domestic politicians will do, but on what agreements will be reached in Brussels.
“In the end, it was always decided on the basis of an internal agreement on who needs the answer of this or that country, so it will depend on what will be the influence of Croatia, Slovenia, and Austria, who advocate the most for BiH,” stated Zarko Puhovski, a political analyst from Zagreb.
“When we look at the situation related to BiH, it seems to me that geopolitics should play a role as well when considering whether to give BiH a date for the opening of negotiations. The answer is yes, and I think we were deprived of this in December. Here we cannot talk about practical and measurable criteria,” explained Adnan Huskic, a political analyst.
The leaders of the ruling coalition at the BiH level achieved, as they say, an important step forward on key issues on the European path. Progress has been made in connection with the amendments to the Election Law and the Law on the Constitutional Court of BiH.
“It will not be a foreign will, but the will of the BiH authorities. We agreed to do this so as not to burden the European road. We said that it should be done by the end of April,” emphasized Milorad Dodik, president of SNSD.
The director of Transparency International (TI) BiH does not see any progress on the road to the EU but believes that BiH will, nevertheless, receive a date for the opening of negotiations in March due to the geopolitical situation.
“The most important priorities concerning electoral legislation, the rule of law, judicial reform, the fight against corruption, the state of human rights and freedoms are where we have setbacks or adopted half-hearted solutions,” said Ivana Korajlic, director of TI BiH.
The domestic authorities have a long list of obligations that they should fulfill even if BiH receives the green light for accession negotiations with the EU in March. What is important for the citizens is to start with essential reforms as soon as possible, and not changes that would enable greater control to the dominant parties in BiH.
