It is clear that the reforms to strengthen the rule of law are central to the EU accession process of BiH. This is particularly important when it comes to respect for fundamental rights but is also crucial in creating an environment that stimulates entrepreneurship and investment.
The European Union, as you know, is preparing to enlarge for the first time since 2013. Montenegro’s Accession Treaty to join the European Union is being prepared. Other countries in the region but not only, are making impressive progress. Unfortunately, Bosnia and Herzegovina is lagging behind.
Among the major obstacles for Bosnia and Herzegovina to making progress on the EU path are weaknesses in the rule of law.
This week, the country has the opportunity to make a step forward and strengthening the rule of law by adopting the two laws–the Law on HJPC and Law on Courts, that will be most likely scheduled in the next session of the House of People. I call on all political leaders to demonstrate their commitment and move forward on this agenda.
The EU has been probably the most important donor towards Bosnia and Herzegovina’s judiciary. The Project that ends today is a very Team Europe effort. I have the pleasure to have here my true colleagues from Spain and France but also Germany and we will continue to support the rule of law in BiH. Without a proper rule of law, BiH will not progress on it’s path towards the EU.
Talking about something concrete, I would like to mention one in particular – fact that now a number of courts can issue a digital certificate for citizens that can be used to prove that there are no criminal proceedings against them. This is an important step in modernisation of the system to announce transparency and bringing services closer to citizens.
The project that brought certainly very important steps, but there is still a lot to do. We need to have a sustainable reforms that last in time and in particular that take care of the citizen’s needs and their trust in judiciary. Integrity is very important for the judiciary.
The integrity amendments to the Law on HJPC adopted in September 2023 and January 2024 were important milestones in establishing the legal basis for a comprehensive asset verification process, and it was on of the reasons why the negotiations were opened in 2024. The verification of assets held by judicial office holders is an important anti-corruption and integrity tool, and it is crucial that the asset verification system of the HJPC is fully operational in line with Bosnia and Herzegovina’s obligations on the EU path.
The European Union has proven to be a reliable and loyal partner of Bosnia and Herzegovina in this process. We stand ready to work with all partners to support reforms aimed at improving the functioning of the judicial system in line with EU standards. It is clear however that our continued support is conditional on practices and legislation in Bosnia and Herzegovina being aligned with European legislation and standards, as Bosnia and Herzegovina is candidate country for EU membership.
We had indeed some divergences with the Council. There’s been exchanges that are still ongoing. We think that there is room for improvement. Dialogue is important, but it’s also important to respect principles. And monitoring should happen from an outside monitoring system. It’s important to divide the moment of monitoring and the moment of supervision.
Let me conclude by saying our own sole interest is the protection of the interest and the rights of the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The more the judicial system is transparent, effective, the more the interest and the rights of a BiH citizen are protected.
