How much does the inaction of BiH officials cost? The price is rising, and the bill has long been handed to the state and citizens. The somewhat forgotten European Union Growth Plan, in the midst of the political crisis and blockades, has been brought back into focus by European officials with a warning of new losses. However, those who were invited to them have still not responded in a concrete way, practically telling Brussels that they do not need the money.
Loss of billions of euros
BiH could have built and modernized schools, hospitals, roads, and railways with money from the Growth Plan. A billion euros was ready for our country, and then the officials, by delaying and failing to implement reforms, only earned themselves the label of the biggest loser in the Western Balkans. Little by little, the billion is melting away, the money is disappearing. 108 million euros have already been lost, and now a loss of an additional 373.9 million euros is threatened.
“In Bosnia and Herzegovina, however, the European Union needs to clearly identify and name those who are responsible,” said Adnan Ćerimagić, an analyst at the European Stability Initiative.
For the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Elmedin Konaković (NiP), there is no dilemma – the responsibility lies with the SNSD.
“They have the document that we all need, they need it more than anyone else because of the dubious situation in which that BiH entity finds itself, but they have their own principles, because the SNSD’s elitism does not recognize the problems of the citizens,” said Konaković.
Political blockades and disputes
In front of the citizens, once again, procedures in which party interests are well packaged. The SNSD initially contested the content of the Reform Agenda for months, opposing the measures related to the Constitutional Court of BiH and the abolition of the entity veto in the State Aid Council.
Now they are blocking the ratification of international agreements on the instrument and the loan and the appointment of the main coordinator for the Growth Plan.
“There is clearly some agreement that there is no rush. You know what that means for us – when we rush, we can’t catch up with either the region or the European Union. And when we don’t rush, you can imagine what it looks like,” said Edin Forto, Minister of Communications and Transport of Bosnia and Herzegovina (NS).
This is regularly presented by ministers and parliamentarians who disagree at mostly unsuccessful sessions and often empty halls without a quorum.
The Speaker of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kemal Ademović, stressed that there is room for a quick solution to the problem.
“If there is political will, we can finish all of this in 10 days. Everything can be finished, sessions can be held. Whether that will happen, I don’t know. Maybe those who met in Banja Luka yesterday and who are hindering these processes know that,” said Ademović.
Time is running out
The leaders of the blockade of the state House of Peoples, through which the missing agreements must pass, are calling for changes and talks, but without much optimism because…
“I fear that this kind of inaction is being transferred to the Council of Ministers and that it is not possible to make decisions,” says Deputy Speaker of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina Dragan Čović (HDZBiH).
There is not much time to waste, because the Growth Plan lasts until 2027. In the meantime, the current year is also an election year in Bosnia and Herzegovina. And the priorities are clearly out of step with the European ones, because while support continues to come from the European Union, citizens need new and good opportunities, only domestic leaders do not have them on the agenda. So it is increasingly certain that the Growth Plan in Bosnia and Herzegovina was just a plan, unsuccessful.
