SARAJEVO – Authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina missed the deadline to align the draft Reform Agenda and to send it to the European Commission, said Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
„The working group for drafting the Reform Agenda in BiH did not approve a draft, as representatives from four cantons did not give their consent to the proposed draft document, despite an additionall two-day extention granted by the European Comimission“, Krišto said.
The members of the working group for drafting Reform Agenda include four state ministers, two entity prime ministers, two finance ministers, ten cantonal prime ministers, along with the directors of the Directorate for Economic Planning and the Directorate for European Integration of BiH. They were supposed to present their proposals and harmonize the plan to be sent by Council of Ministers of BiH to Brussels.
„Unfortunately, despite all efforts and support we received from European institutions, it was not enough for everyone in Bosnia and Herzegovina to show a minimal degree of political responsibility and focus our activities towards a common European path“, said Borjana Krišto.
Minister of Communication and Transport, Edin Forto, blamed the Democratic Action Party (SDA) for missing a significant opportunity, stating that it, through its four cantonal prime ministers, refused to support the Reform agenda. „The SDA decided to block the European path and deprive citizens and businesses throughout BiH of funds“, Forto said.
The US Embassy in Sarajevo stated that the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans represents a unique offer form the EU to the citizens, allowing them to benefit from some advantages of EU membership even before full accession.
“It would provide increased assistance in exchange for fundamental reforms. To unlock the first tranche of funding available from the Growth Plan political leaders must submit an ambitious Reform Agenda to Brussels. The country’s political leaders are failing”, US Embassy stated on X.
As it was stated, the EU had a Reform Agenda in front the political leaders, and for weeks its approval was blocked by Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik, who has refused to accept two of the more than 100 points in the plan, including the requirement that the RS appoint judges to the BiH Constitutional Court and recognise the decisions of the Court.
“Our understanding is that the EU has not weakened its requirements for the Reform Agenda, and that Mr. Dodik continues to refuse to agree to the final two points. This is sadly typical of a man who consistently puts his interests ahead of those he claims to represent. As we have said before, Mr. Dodik’s rhetoric and policies constitute the biggest threat to the European future the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina want and deserve”, it was said in a statement published on X.
They added that it is unclear to us why the Working Group for the Reform Plan was voting to approve a plan that did not contain all the EU requirements, including the requirement to appoint BiH Constitutional Court judges and recognize the decisions of the Court.
“Regardless, the Party of Democratic Action’s (SDA) decision to use the opportunity for political grandstanding, rather than work with other pro-BiH parties to secure approval on the final two outstanding points was unhelpful and irresponsible. Such behavior does nothing to build consensus and forge the compromises necessary to advance down its European path. When it comes to securing the country’s European future, politics should, as we say in the United States, stop at the waters’ edge. SDA failed that test yesterday”, US Embassy in Sarajevo concluded.
The Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, adopted at the beginning of May this year, covers the period from 2024 to 2027. It provides six billion euros in aid to Western Balkan countries in the form of non-repayable grants and favorable loans. To benefit from the EU Reform and Growth Fund, Western Balkan countries must meet several criteria, which are equally applicable to all EU member states.