Yesterday, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) received candidate status for membership in the European Union (EU), and also received a signed agreement for a new government at the state level.
The new state government will consist of the Eight, HDZ, and SNSD parties, and there are no obstacles for this government, as is the case with the federal level and the Bosniak Caucus in the House of Peoples. The previous meetings of the listed partners exuded optimism, mutual praise, and messages that from now on citizens will see a new political story and results.
The agreement in principle is that they will work on European integration and projects that will bring BiH closer to the EU. So far, the public has only been informed of the agreement in principle about the good faith of the partners themselves, and the details and problems themselves have not been addressed because everyone is in a hurry to take over the Government.
However, after all the nice words, messages of encouragement, appreciation, and some positive energy from the negotiators, the first obstacles and problems await. The future state government did not comment on specific steps towards the NATO path because the partner from the Republika Srpska (RS) does not want to put this topic on the table. In the meantime, we only heard general messages about the importance of the country’s European path.
Moreover, the first problems, and those of a narrative nature, can be expected already in January, when the authorities in the RS celebrate January 9th as the Day of RS.
Furthermore, the question arises as to how the Eight will respond to Milorad Dodik’s requests to approve the projects that SNSD insists on. This is the construction of the eastern connection, that is, a new gas pipeline from Serbia through the RS entity, which would supply RS with Russian gas. Then the construction of the airport in Trebinje, which is a Serbian investment, and the construction of the Buk Bijela Hydroelectric Power Plant on the river Drina, which is a joint project between Serbia and the RS entity.
These are all topics and issues that Dodik will not give up and that he has been leading as an entity until now, even though they are matters of state competence. As it is known, these questions should have already been on the agenda of the Presidency and will probably be on the next first session as well.
Considering that it is about very important issues of state property and state authority, then opening the door to a new Russian energy presence in BiH, the Eight will be faced with a big challenge of how to position themselves politically, and still, work on projects and lead a policy that does not imply blockades.
On the other hand, in the first six months after the establishment of state power, the HDZ will inevitably insist on changing the electoral law, which also includes the resolution of the election of members of the Presidency. It will be a challenge to find a solution for that issue as well, and not to agree to some asymmetry in the selection that Dodik fought for.
These are just some of the issues that will be the first on the agenda, along with a number of other challenges, such as the relationship with certain institutions such as the Central Election Commission (CEC) and the like. Namely, the leader of the SNSD has already announced that the members of the CEC will be replaced in the first month after the establishment of the government. All of this will reveal how honest the political partners who form the government are and are ready to cooperate and work for the citizens, Klix.ba reports.
Photo: rtrs
E.Dz.
