The absence of SNSD and HDZ BiH delegates from the emergency session of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH (PSBiH) caused sharp reactions from some of the parliamentarians present, who assessed that this blocked the work of the institutions and prevented the consideration of measures aimed at reducing fuel prices and mitigating inflation.
The emergency session of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, which was scheduled for today, could not be held because delegates from SNSD and HDZ BiH did not come to the session, so that at the very beginning there was no quorum for work.
This session today had only one item on the agenda, which was the request of the House of Representatives of the PSBiH to consider the Proposal for a Law on Amendments to the Law on Excise in BiH under an urgent procedure.
The delegate in the House of Peoples PSBiH Zlatko Miletić (Club of the Croatian People) stated that the institutions should be, conditionally speaking, a service to the citizens, not only in matters such as the abolition of VAT on certain foodstuffs or the exemption of businessmen from the tax on “dirty energy”, but also in connection with a number of other topics foreseen in the agenda of the regular session of the House of Peoples, which should be held today.
“We will, regardless of whether he will appear from SNSD and HDZ BiH today or not, we will be persistent in this effort,” said Miletić.
He added that a new session will be scheduled soon, stressing that the approach of the SNSD and HDZ will not discourage them, and that, as he stated, they will try in every possible way to ensure that all parties do their work in accordance with the Rules of Procedure and the Constitution, given that they are present and actively working every day.
The delegate of the Party for BiH in the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, Džemal Smajić, also addressed the media, expressing his regret that the delegates of the SNSD and HDZ BiH did not attend the session at which, as he stated, the very important Law on Excise Duties was to be discussed, with the aim of reducing fuel prices in BiH.
He added that he had expected their absence, especially after the statement by the High Representative in BiH, Christian Schmidt, that he would not interfere in the aforementioned issues, but that it was a matter for local politicians and their agreement.
“This means that the High Representative, Christian Schmidt, openly supported those forces that are blocking the work of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, and specifically I am referring to the SNSD and HDZ,” said Smajić.
