SARAJEVO – The largest Bosniak, Serb and Croat parties agreed to form a new government of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday.
The tripartite Bosnia’s Presidency gave the mandate to for a new government to Zoran Tegeltija, from the Serb Alliance of Independent Social democrats (SNSD) party.
According to statements by members of Bosnia’s tripartite Presidency in Tuesday, the bickering which crippled the country for more than a year is officially ending and everyone got that what they wanted – Bosnia will finally have a new government formed soon and will send a document which was the reason for the political crisis to NATO.
According to Balkan Insight, Bosnian media reported that a Reform Programme of the Annual National Plan would be submitted, though it was not immediately clear what this might mean.
The decision to appoint Tegeltija will be forwarded to the Commission of Bosnia’s House of Representatives for further preparation of the election of the Council of Ministers.
Bosnian member of the Presidential Council Šefik Džaferović, in a news conference said that there are no winners or losers in the decision.
“Winner is Bosnia and Herzegovina and its people,” he added.
EU Special Representative to Bosnia Johann Sattler congratulated Bosnia’s political leaders after they finally reached an agreement on forming the country’s government on Tuesday, saying that it will “unblock many EU funded projects” that are currently on in the Parliament.
“Congratulations on finding a solution to move BIH forward. Compromise is strength! Swift formation of Government and Parliament will allow for important reforms to continue, but also unlock many EU funded projects, which are currently stuck in Parliament,” Sattler posted on Twitter.
Bosnia sank into a political deadlock after the last legislative elections in autumn 2018, when the formation of a new state-level government was blocked over disagreements on the country’s bid to join NATO. Council of Ministers has not formed since the October 2018 election, and the previous ministers have since then been serving their posts in technical mandates.