European Commissioner for Enlargement, Stefan File, after an unsuccessful meeting in Sarajevo on the issue of implementation of the Sejdic Finci ruling, said that “BiH is currently in breach of its international obligations, and responsibilities for that are with the political leaders.” It is particularly emphasized that the specific consequences of the failure of the negotiations are lack of implementation of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the EU and BiH and the impossibility of filing credible applications for BiH’s EU membership. Will the EU Delegation to BiH change its approach in dealing with the authorities at all levels in BiH, or will it wait for the elections?
Elections are not a major factor for us because EU integration is a continuous job for the institutions, for the government of the day and for all those with a role to play. We expect work on the EU agenda to continue throughout this election year and those in the future.
The process that leads to accession to the EU is a tried and tested method that has already brought a number of countries into the EU, and it has developed over the years. So the conditions will not change.
However, Commissioner Füle and High Representative/Vice President Ashton have spoken of their readiness and that of the Member States to do more for Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Commissioner has already announced a number of initiatives in the economic sphere such as drawing up a national economic reform programme and forming a competitiveness and growth programme.
Events in Ukraine have disrupted planned arrival of the High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security, Catherine Ashton to BiH? What can politicians expect and what can the citizens of BiH expect from her visit and when will that be?
During her visit on Wednesday 12 March, the HR/VP will discuss with BiH institutions and members of civil society how the EU can further support the EU integration process of this country. She will also underline the EU’s continuing commitment to BiH’s EU perspective, whatever the current difficulties.
The HR/VP will underline the crucial role and responsibility of the institutional and political leaders of the country.
Her visit comes before BiH is discussed in-depth between the foreign ministers of the EU Member States. Therefore she will be getting first hand impressions of the situation in the country that will then feed into her eventual discussions in Brussels.
Recently RS media published a study of public opinion conducted by the Research Institute of the Faculty of Political Science, University of Banja Luka, according to which joining the EU chose only 30.83 % of respondents. How would you comment this research, and the result?
I haven’t seen the methodology of this poll so I can’t comment in detail – I am not sure how large a sample was used. Against other surveys I have seen in BiH I find this figure rather low. Country-wide you generally tend to see that overall around 70% of people or above want BiH to join the EU either soon or in the long term.
However this study does underline that there is a need for a wider, better informed debate on EU integration in society here, with the different aspects of the issue thoroughly discussed and explained. That means the advantages and the disadvantages, the positives and the negatives. But that is not just a job for the EU Delegation/EUSR office! Given that there appears to consensus between the political parties that BiH should join the EU, we need to see the politicians actively help the public to understand the country’s EU perspective. Overall, the talk in BiH about the EU needs to be far more concrete.
Also, on several occasions, the media in the RS informed the public that this Entity has not benefited greatly from the IPA funds, but that this is about investing in the establishment of the agencies, and even the new institutions that are supposed to be established on the level of BiH. This can often be heard from the political representatives of the RS authorities. Do you have information on the amount of funds that has been invested in the RS and how much can citizens for the RS benefit from IPA?
The RS has benefited directly and indirectly from IPA funds. Such accusations do not stand up to serious scrutiny. Speaking of direct benefits, and just to name a few examples, these range from the reconstruction at Banja Luka Kastel and Novi Grad Town Hall to improving the road at Mahovljani. In Bijeljina we’ve been supporting work on dealing with waste water and providing better quality drinking water. In Visegrad we’ve been providing funds to local NGOs to help them become active in protecting the Drina river. In Trebinje and Ljubinje we’ve been supporting small businesses producing medical and aromatic plants. The EU provided financial support to the Statistical Institute of the RS to carry out last year’s census. The parliamentary twinning project just launched on Tuesday this week will provide support to the development of the RSNA. There are many more such examples. In addition, all citizens including those living in the RS, benefit from the work of state bodies, especially if IPA projects bring about improvements. Take the border police for example.
As many projects are implemented BiH-wide it is not possible to separate out what amount has been invested in the RS as a distinct category. What is clear is that since 2007, over 600 million euro is being invested in this country as a whole and the RS draws multiple benefits from that, just as the state level, the FBiH and the Brcko District do. I also would like to mention that the RS authorities are appropriately involved in the planning and implementation of EU funds.
Every day you witness the protests on the streets of Sarajevo. Protests are happening in other cities of the Federation as well, and recently there was one held in Banja Luka. So far, there are numerous opinions that protests are “staged by the foreign centers of power”, with variations – to abolish the RS, to the statement given by Zlatko Lagumdzija to “weaken the Bosniak-majority cantons”. In this context, United States are very often referred as the commissioners of these events, but the EU as well. Did the EU Delegation in BiH talked to the local leaders on this topic and were you given the identical positions that they have when they address the citizens/nation?
The protests have given rise to many sensible statements about the situation in the country and to a lot of nonsense too. The statements we have heard about conspiracies and “foreign centres of power” seem to me as attempts to avoid dealing with the real issues. People in BiH want better living conditions, they want employment opportunities, they want efficient justice and they want to be able to make their way through ability and not connections. All of these demands are completely reasonable and politicians and institutions should address them first and not waste time.
Obviously our interlocutors have a range of views and we have heard different opinions from them. Many have recognised the seriousness of the protestors’ demands. Our message to all our interlocutors was and is simple: listen to the citizens and act on their concerns. We therefore hope that the upcoming election campaign this year will contain far more talk about the economy and social reform than tedious rhetoric about ethnicities and hollow accusations.
