The chief negotiator with the European Union (EU), according to the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and the applicable law, is appointed by the Presidency of BiH, not the Council of Ministers of BiH, said Zeljko Komsic, a member of the state presidency, on Friday.
Komsic stated that the chief negotiator with the EU must be determined in accordance with the Constitution of BiH, and “not based on the colloquial political will of any political party or coalition.”
“Milorad Dodik, Dragan Covic, Nermin Niksic, and Edin Forto have no authority to participate in the process of selecting the chief negotiator,” emphasized the Presidency member.
“Only Konakovic, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, has a certain role based on the procedure prescribed by law,” added Komsic.
It should be recalled that two days ago after a meeting of the ruling coalition at the BiH level held in Banja Luka, SNSD leader Milorad Dodik stated that they had “almost agreed that the chief negotiator with the EU, the Chair of the Council of Ministers, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs will not belong to the same constituent people.”
If such an agreement on the chief negotiator is eventually confirmed, it would fulfill one of the demands of the SNSD leader, who has previously insisted that the proposal for the chief negotiator come from parties within the Republika Srpska (RS) entity.