We saw off another year, in which we didn’t even manage to buy a ticket, let alone get on the train to Brussels. Despite all the optimism, the yellow light did not turn green, although almost until the last moment there was hope that this winter would melt the frozen reforms.
Although the European spring for Bosnia and Herzegovina was expected on the thirteenth of December, it stands behind the barricade, with its hand raised.
CHARLES MICHEL, President of the European Council
“Bosnia and Herzegovina will wait until March. They will submit a progress report in March, when we will decide whether to open negotiations with them.”
What can possibly change by March? How to arrange in two months what we have not been able to do for two decades?
MILORAD DODIK, president of Republika Srpska (December 5, 2023)
“I proposed to put in place the Law on the Court, the Law on Money Laundering, as it is called, to solve the problem of the number 112, so that the Government of the Republic of Srpska and the Government of the Federation will adopt the same number and it will literally apply to the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina , as well as with the electronic signature, we don’t waste time on nonsense, whether we should transfer responsibilities or not.”
DRAGAN ČOVIĆ, President of HDZ BiH (November 28, 2023)
“The fewer public statements that will be a burden on our European path, the easier it will be for all of us.”
This kind of story, typical for meetings with European officials and in Brussels, is generally not valid on the home ground. Most often, the entity authorities are stretched where they should and where they shouldn’t, which is why the long-awaited document on cooperation with the European Border and Coast Guard Agency was adopted only at the very end of the year.
STAŠA KOŠARAC, Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina (December 12, 2023)
“This is one of the steps taken by the Council of Ministers today, taking into account the national structure, entity representation and, of course, the very visible constitutional jurisdiction of the Republika Srpska, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the canton and the Brčko District.”
The moment when the Council of Ministers ceased to be the only address with which Brussels negotiates, the European path of Bosnia and Herzegovina slowed down significantly. And that’s just one of the reasons we’re where we are.
ELMEDIN KONAKOVIĆ, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina (May 22, 2023)
“In my speech, I said that even Europe did almost nothing, that they slept for ten years in the areas of the Western Balkans, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that their awakening, and here is ours, can be used in a positive process.”
Analysts wonder how to achieve this in the first place, given the constant political tensions and blockades?
TANJA TOPIĆ, political analyst
“The question remains open, what is the next step, that is, a move that would motivate them to start from a deadlock and to tackle the major reforms that will inevitably follow Bosnia and Herzegovina, and without the fulfillment of those reforms it is difficult to hope for a new gift from European Union.”
LEJLA RAMIĆ-MESIHOVIĆ, professor of international relations (IBU)
“Without a clear plan of who does what, how obligations are assumed, without dynamizing the process, without establishing with the help of which human resources, which institution, which level of government, which institution, by which deadline someone is responsible, we cannot do anything more serious, when it comes to that aspect of integration.”
The beginning of the year is a new test for politicians in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Will we be able to prepare extensive material by March or, for the umpteenth time, lose the year?, BHRT writes.
