Impressions are being collected, after the visit of the President of the European Commission to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The European Union encouraged Bosnia and Herzegovina, but left clearly set conditions and a deadline for their fulfillment until March. Then a new decision is expected, on the opening of negotiations. After the visit, there were high expectations from the local authorities, but not from the non-governmental sector.
Time is running out. By the end of March, the opportunity for BiH to receive approval for the start of negotiations can be extinguished. This was noted by European officials during their visit to Sarajevo, with a clear message that domestic political forces must implement key reforms: changes to the Election Law, adoption of the Law on Courts, and prevention of money laundering and conflicts of interest. In the mentioned areas, there is no room for divisions along ethnic lines, says the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He vividly explains that BiH is 100 meters from the EU.
“If there are no conditions, if you do this, then we do that… I think we are close to a historic step forward for Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Elmedin Konaković points out.
“We are on the threshold of negotiations, and that makes me happy. I am also happy about the fact that some laws will soon be in the PD, such as the electoral law and the law on preventing conflicts of interest,” says Milan Petković, deputy in the PD PSBiH (US).
BiH became a candidate for membership on December 15, 2022. A list of 14 conditions for opening negotiations was published. The opinion of the non-governmental sector about the promising European country is divided today.
“What the politicians have agreed upon and what should be implemented gives a dose of optimism that we can open negotiations in March. First of all, these 3 or 4 laws are crucial. I hope that the politicians will have the courage and readiness for the important moment ahead,” said journalist Zoran Krešić.
“Well, it’s been almost half a decade since the conditions were set and almost nothing has been done. I don’t know how we’ll do everything in such a short period of time. Before, we just went backwards, especially in terms of freedom of speech and association,” notes Damjan Ožegović from Transparency International BiH.
After the President of the European Commission and the Prime Ministers of the Netherlands and Croatia in Sarajevo got acquainted with the reform progress of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the President of the RS also made an announcement on the social network X. He said that RS is committed to the EU, but not to sanctions against Russia.
