At its session on Wednesday, July 12th, the European Parliament adopted the report of the European Commission on the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) during 2022, and the details of the entire document, i.e. the adopted resolution, were published on the website of the European Parliament.
In the text of the resolution, the European Parliament welcomed the European Council’s decision to grant BiH candidate status.
Of the more important points of the resolution, point 11 stands out in particular.
“We welcome the extension of the mandate of the EUFOR Althea mission until November 2023. We call for a fundamental assessment of the security situation and capabilities on the ground, as well as for consideration of the deployment of additional EUFOR capacities in the Brcko District,” it is explained.
In part of the resolution, the European Parliament welcomed BiH’s commitment to NATO and the European Union (EU) but also referred to the decisions of the High Representative.
“The High Representative’s decision regarding changes to the Federation of BiH (FBiH) Constitution and BiH Election Law, which sought to improve the functionality of the FBiH, is acknowledged, but at the same time, concerns are expressed due to the time when the decision was made, along with the lack of transparency and necessary consultations. For this reason, the Officer of the High Representative (OHR) is called upon to work exclusively within its mandate, not to contribute to the strengthening of political and ethnic divisions and tensions through its activities, and to use the Bonn powers only as a last resort,” it is stated.
However, regret was expressed over the non-implementation of the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
“Regret is expressed for the failure of political actors to harmonize the constitution and electoral framework with the European Convention on Human Rights, by not implementing the judgments of the ECHR (in the cases of Sejdic-Finci, Zornic, Pilav, and Slaku). It also expresses regret that certain decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH have not yet been implemented, which jeopardizes equal political rights for all citizens. It calls on all decision-makers to reach an agreement, in accordance with the judgments of international and domestic courts, as well as the political agreement in Brussels from June 12th, 2022,” it was announced.
Finally, the state’s efforts to develop regional cooperation, especially through the Berlin process, were welcomed.
“We welcome all the efforts of BiH to strengthen regional cooperation, especially those within the Common Regional Market (CRM), which is part of the Berlin Process,” it concludes, Klix.ba reports.
E.Dz.
