In recent weeks, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has been one of the main topics of discussion in Brussels, both because of the current political situation in our country and because of the reforms of the Election Law and the Constitution.
In addition to considering the possibility of sanctions against individuals in companies in our country, in the form of asset freezes, travel bans, and economic sanctions, they also discussed the relationship between BiH and the European Union (EU), and what the current situation means when it comes to EU integration.
We are losing 1.5 billion euros
As many EU officials claim, last year was lost for BiH, and we have not made progress on any of the 14 key issues.
Attempts by Republika Srpska (RS) politicians, led by BiH Presidency member and SNSD President Milorad Dodik, to dismantle certain state institutions, such as the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) and the Medicines Agency, whose reforms have been funded by the EU for many years, lead to consequences.
As it was found out from well-informed diplomatic sources, the European Commission received requests for EU support at the end of December last year, for railway/road connections and works on Corridor 5C. Agreements on EU contribution to the project are worth about 600 million euros. But, our state will not receive that money until the institutions are fully functional again.
In other words, due to the blockades by RS and Milorad Dodik, our country is losing large amounts of money. According to a rough estimate, BiH could lose almost 1.5 billion euros due to the non-functioning of state institutions.
Reform of the Election Law and the Constitution
According to the diplomatic sources, the EU is still ready to help our country, but only when the key institutions, the Council of Ministers, the Parliament, and the Presidency continue to work.As they explained, this does not mean just being physically present and deciding only on individual items on the agenda, but doing the job as a whole.
When it comes to the reform of the Election Law, our sources state that we have two to three weeks left to reach a final agreement, otherwise, as they say, the entire election process is in question and it is not known whether the elections will be held at all.
E.Dz.
Source: Federalna
