SARAJEVO – Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik’s decision to block all negotiations and the work of Bosnia’s state institutions, questioning the territorial integrity of the country is detrimental to the country and its development as well as its EU accession process, German Foreign Ministry told Deutsche Welle on behalf of the countries of the Quint (US, UK, Germany, Italy and France), N1 reported.
„Secessionist rhetoric, as well as blockades or ultimatums, pulls the country back. BiH needs functional institutions to move forward on its reform path towards the EU and to catch up with economically. In this respect, the rule of law is a key element, and the Constitutional Court is the central institution in all of this,“ German Foreign Ministry said.
EU Ambassador to BiH Johann Sattler said that a change in the work of the BiH Constitutional Court is possible, but that it would be necessary to agree with the procedures on which politicians agreed, Tanjug reported.
“Citizens expect from politicians to find a solution and that is now the number one priority,” Sattler said, adding that it’s possible for BiH to get out of the current situation without pressure from external factors.
“I think it’s possible, but one of the prerequisites is that there is goodwill and a certain amount of creativity that will allow local leaders to come together at the same table and discuss the solution,” Sattler said.
He emphasized that his own and the work of other international representatives is in finding solutions in BiH in keeping channels of communication open and providing assistance.
The authorities of the Serb-dominated Republika Srpska (RS) entity announced they would not take part in the decision-making process at the state level. The reason for this was the Court’s decision regarding the appeal of several Bosniak MPs in the RS who appealed against the RS Law on Agricultural Land and the RS Law on Inland Navigation, stating that the RS is usurping state competencies and taking the land which belongs to the state.