The European Commission gave a conditional recommendation to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) for the start of negotiations, i.e. it was clearly emphasized that the negotiations will begin the moment our country really fulfills all 14 priorities that the European Union (EU) has set. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced that she will submit the progress report to the European Council for decision in March 2024.
Turn a blind eye
However, if the EU continues to insist on BiH fulfilling all 14 priorities, the chances are zero that BiH will ever join the EU. Namely, since BiH received 14 priorities from the EU in 2019 as a condition for candidate status (when the EU turned a blind eye), only two have been fully fulfilled.
The work of the BiH Council of Ministers was praised because they took significant steps in the adoption of European reforms after the granting of Candidate Status, but this was not enough for BiH, like Ukraine and Moldova, to receive a recommendation to open negotiations three days ago.
On the contrary, it was concluded that BiH actually regressed in some of the 14 conditions. Certain progress was achieved in public administration reform, but about five years after its adoption, the Action Plan for Public Administration Reform was implemented only to a limited extent.
In the field of justice, it was emphasized that some progress has been made, but no progress has been made in the fight against corruption. One of the conditions was the adoption of the law on the prevention of conflicts of interest, which was not adopted at the level of BiH or Federation of BiH (FBiH), and even additional steps were taken that set us back with the recent changes to this law in the Republika Srpska (RS). Also, the adoption of two comprehensive laws on judicial reform, namely the new laws on the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) and the courts of BiH, was not adopted, which is also among the eight conditions for candidate status.
Bleak picture
On the other hand, there has been a setback in guaranteeing freedom of expression due to the criminalization of defamation in the smaller BiH entity RS.
The picture is particularly bleak in economic areas. Limited or no progress has been achieved in the areas of competitiveness and inclusive growth (taxation, digital transformation, media, social policy and employment, entrepreneurial and industrial policies, science and research, education and culture, and customs).
The report also criticized the recent amendments to the Law on the HJPC with the aim of checking the property records of holders of judicial functions, which were adopted in a changed version in relation to the report of the Venice Commission.
The report points out that such changes hinder the effectiveness of the asset declaration system and therefore need to be amended.
Travel, Europe
Taking into account all of the above, as well as the fact that even those measures that were adopted did not fully meet the conditions required of BiH on its European path, it is difficult to expect greater progress in the next four months, when BiH was given the next deadline, given that it has not been achieved in the previous four years.
However, one positive thing is that the EU made it clear to our country that it is welcome in its society and that it is ready for negotiations. But to pass the exam, you have to come prepared, Avaz reports.
E.Dz.
