The issue of state property is once again opening up space for political bargaining and institutional conflicts, in which legal arguments, political interests, and the influence of the international community are intertwined. According to unofficial information, the so-called Quinte countries are offering a solution to one of the most sensitive issues in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Although the proposal has not been officially presented, it has already provoked different interpretations and reactions on the domestic political scene. Both the government and the opposition – both the Social Democratic Party and the Party of Democratic Action – have an almost identical position: state property is unquestionable and belongs exclusively to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Unquestionable ownership of the state
In the political arena, state property is for some a negotiating stake – for others – what is unquestionable, a state category and cannot be the subject of political opportunism and agreement. It is an unresolved legal and political issue that has blocked development and investments for decades, so the international community is allegedly getting involved by offering its own solutions. The proposal is unofficial, but it is a cause for reaction among domestic political actors.
For the SDP, there is no dilemma – any “flexible” interpretations of the facts that the property belongs to Bosnia and Herzegovina are unacceptable.
“State property is called state property because, according to the Constitution, it belongs to the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. I want to tell all representatives of the international community, regardless of which countries are involved, that there is no more flexible model than that state property belongs to the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. And there are no representatives of the international community who can force representatives in the state parliament to raise their hands against it,” said SDP Deputy President Zukan Helez.
Functionality and the law
This party emphasizes the need for the property to be functional – to be used for development, the welfare of citizens and strategic projects, whereby lower levels of government can obtain usage rights within a clearly defined legal framework, but with a solution at the state level.
The opposition SDA also specifies – Bosnia and Herzegovina is the owner of the property, and other solutions are unacceptable to them.
“Unfortunately, some solutions that are currently relevant, such as the issue of the Southern Interconnection, are being attempted through compromise without full respect for constitutional jurisdiction. I believe that this is wrong and that it would be more practical to apply a model similar to the one used during the construction of the US Embassy,” said SDA Vice President Edin Ramić.
Southern Interconnection as an example
And on the road to the realization of the Southern Interconnection, a project conceived as an energy breakthrough that means alternative sources of gas and reducing energy dependence – there is also the unregulated status of state property, that is, the law at the state level.
Another obstacle is the Concessions Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has been blocked by the SNSD and could make exceptions to the temporary ban on the disposal of state property, as well as that on the Southern Interconnection route.
And while the international community offers solutions and calls for compromise, the domestic political terrain remains the same – between flexibility, principles and trade – an agreement is still not in sight.
