The High Representative in BiH, Christian Schmidt, said that the problem of financing the Public Service of BiH should be solved by the Parliamentary Assembly, and that he should not be the one to solve the problems of BHRT.
“I received the letters and read everything. It is clear to me why those who sent the letters are worried… I see that there is a lack of money, that there are discussions on how to provide money for BHRT, that this was discussed in the House of Representatives, but not in the House of Peoples. This is the responsibility of the Parliament. I can provide support, but I should not be the one who does these jobs. The public service is in serious trouble, but I see that work is being done to solve this problem,” said Schmidt, BHRT writes.
When asked if he would take responsibility if the Public Service shuts down, he said that the responsibility lies with those who need to solve this issue.
“We must have a public service. This issue must be taken seriously… We will monitor the situation,” he said.
Cultural institutions are also in financial problems, and Schmidt believes that he has taken an important step for them.
“I think I have taken an important step. I am not a budget committee. I see that the Presidency proposed that these cultural institutions have their own budget, I don’t know why it is not included in the Budget. I will continue to monitor this. Progress has been made. The national and university library has a facility, construction plans, UNESCO contributes to this, they receive money mainly from the Federation,” believes Schmidt.
When asked about the use of Bonn powers related to state property, Schmidt did not have a concrete answer, and said that he did not know how some things would end in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“I am ready to help in a constructive way. I believe that the elected officials should decide on these issues, and I will provide support if necessary,” he pointed out.
The High Representative believes that last year was a year of lost opportunities for rapprochement with the EU, as well as that he does not feel the least bit guilty for the delay.
“Everyone in power should bear the responsibility. I wouldn’t say that one person is responsible for everything, it’s about cooperation. I have to say that the Council of Ministers could have done more, but they didn’t. We don’t have a security minister, we don’t know if the coalition is successful. I think there were opportunities to be used, but they weren’t used to improve the situation,” he stressed.
“Those who are really responsible blame someone else in order to divert attention from themselves. I have never brought about the existence of the RS in Bosnia and Herzegovina, I defend the Dayton Agreement”, the high representative points out.
HR said that he will stay in Bosnia and Herzegovina until his term ends.
“This mandate refers to 5+2, we did not fulfill it. I did not declare that I was leaving, not at a time when the development of BiH is not sustainable. At this moment, I do not see that there are those who are interested in taking over my job. I must say that I love the people of BiH. I do not feel this for every politician. The office of the high representative must take care of the citizens and their rights. This is not a country built on political parties, it belongs to the citizens,” said Schmidt and added that apart from BiH Presidency member Željka Cvijanović, no one asked him to submit resignation.
“I hope that I will finish the job and that I will be the last high representative. We must successfully implement the 5+2 program, in this sense, lead Bosnia and Herzegovina towards European integration,” said HR.
He believes that there is a possibility that new technologies will be used in the General Elections this year, but that it is not easy to implement everything at once.
“I expect that the election process will be watched by a large number of observers. The CEC stated that there was electoral fraud at more than 100 polling stations and this must be avoided. We must use all available tools to respect the will of the voters,” he believes.
When asked if he receives a salary in the amount of 24,000 euros, as SNSD president Milorad Dodik claims, HR answered in the negative.
“It’s not Bosnia and Herzegovina’s money, but everything was paid with the money of the international community. It’s not that amount, but I’m not here to talk to the Office of the High Representative, but about the development of BiH,” he stressed.
