At the beginning of yesterday’s special session of the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska (NARS) in Banja Luka, Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Milorad Dodik said that signing an agreement between BiH and the United Kingdom (UK) on the partnership, trade, and cooperation would be very harmful to the interests of the RS.
According to him, the agreement would mean “hostile business towards RS”, among other things, it would allow the import of goods without taxes and customs duties, and without the possibility of parity, which would harm domestic agricultural production in RS.
In addition to this and several other reasons against signing the agreement, Dodik also stated that the former High Representative in BiH Paddy Ashdown has made several decisions harmful to RS and that the current UK government “supports Ashdown’s work.”
Yesterday’s special session of the NARS was convened at Dodik’s request because of the decision of the Presidency of BiH, which orders the initiation of negotiations between BiH and the UK in order to conclude an agreement on the partnership, trade, and cooperation.
Declaring it very harmful to the vital interests of the RS, one of the BiH entities, Dodik soon after making that decision asked for a statement from the entity assembly, whose session was held yesterday. So far, Dodik’s political allies have confirmed his reasons against the agreement, while Senad Bratic, on behalf of the “Zajedno za BiH” (Together for BiH) Coalition, has said he will not support Dodik’s request because he does not want to participate in blocking trade relations with other international entities.
According to the explanation of the individuals from the opposition, Dodik’s request, in this case, is hypocritical, since the negotiators at a recent meeting in Brussels agreed to several things harmful to the RS, Federalna writes.
