Croatian delegates to the European Parliament have submitted a series of amendments to the report on the progress of Bosnia and Herzegovina, by which they call for institutional reforms to ensure the equality of the constitutive peoples and that they follow the principle of federalism, alluding to the establishment of equality for Croats.
In the amendment signed by EPP delegates Andrej Plenkovic, Ivana Maletic, Davor Ivo Stier, Dubravka Suica (all from the HDZ) and Marijana Petir (HSS), they expressed the hope that “Bosnian and Herzegovinian leaders would move forward and accelerate institutional, economic and social reforms to enable progress on the path toward membership in the EU and ensure equal status for all three constitutive peoples and the others.”
Croatian MEPs do not mention in their amendments that they are thinking of Croats in BiH, but earlier they had repeatedly sought to establish equality for Croats with Serbs and Bosniaks in BiH, Hina recalls.
Picula in his amendment proposes that in the report text they introduce the sentence that BiH “will not be a successful candidate for EU membership until it establishes responsible institutional conditions for complete equality of all citizens and constitutive peoples.”
Croatian delegates from the EPP in an amendment stress that the present organization of the country is inefficient, “including especially the asymmetrical budgetary allocation among the cantons in the Federation of BiH.”
Picula in his amendment stresses that “constitutional reform is a precondition for BiH to become a fully functional and inclusive country” and calls for a simplification of the institutional structure, in order to ensure a more balanced representation of all constituent peoples and citizens, eliminate ethnic discrimination, rationalize expenditure, and make the state more functional.
(Source: oslobodjenje)
