President Milanović: Conditioning Bosnia and Herzegovina’s EU candidate status with amendments to its election law is cynicism

“We want the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina to be settled, that BiH becomes a member of the European Union. We have to work towards that. An opportunity has now arisen that should be put to good use. All right, let Ukraine get candidate status, but Ukraine has huge problems, so does Moldova. This is an opportunity for BiH to be granted candidate status, as an act of trust and hope. Who can be against that?”, the President of the Republic Zoran Milanović stated at a press conference held prior to a session of the Council of the European Union during which Ukraine and Moldova should get EU candidate status.

He reminded that the chairman of the House of Representatives Nebojša Radmanović and the chairman of the House of Peoples Dragan Čović on Wednesday sent a Request for granting candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that Slovenian President Borut Pahor also sent a letter with the same request. He explained that this was arranged with President Pahor at the Trilateral meeting on Brijuni islands, and he was also supported by Federal Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen. This matter was discussed too at the conference in Ohrid last week. Asked why he did not also sign the letter, President Milanović answered: “It’s as though I did, who started talking about this matter if not I. We concluded at Brijuni that it is better for Borut to sign it. He will make the proposal, I will support him because I initiated it. So that others see how Slovenes think. It was a tactic.”

The President also talked about the reasons why he feels BiH should be granted EU candidate status. “BiH is left to itself. The international community in BiH has brought it to its knees, and we are now requesting that in a unique moment, not to be repeated, BiH is lent a hand. But it cannot. Why not? Let Plenković explain this. There are evidently some priorities. Are they his personal priorities, is it personnel policies of installing his assistants for salaries of seven, eight of ten thousand euros, is it fear that it will jeopardize Croatia’s entry into Schengen and the euro? Let him say that entry into Schengen and the euro are more important than peace and order in BiH and the fate of the people who live there. If Plenković would speak frankly, we could sit down and discuss to see what would be the danger if that happened”, President Milanović stated.

Since BiH is being conditioned to amend its election law, he warned that “the predominantly political group in BiH is obstructing and will obstruct this until the last day”. To condition BiH for obtaining candidate status with a reform of the election law is in his view “cynicism”. The only person who currently can solve the issue of the reform of the election law is the High Representative of the International community Christian Schmidt, the Croatian President claims, and he can do so by using the so-called Bonn powers, and say like so many times before – that’s the law, and the basis for this is the ruling of the Constitutional Court of BiH. “Just as he has imposed the decision on the financing of the elections in BiH”, the President reminded, and added that by amending the election law he “would be doing the right thing”. Convinced that the High Representative is not acting autonomously, but that someone is “giving him cues and tips”, the President added that the Americans should tell him to do so, and the problem with the election law would be solved.

The President of the Republic once again criticized “the international community’s level of ignorance and lack of understanding of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is a Central European country”. He also blames the Croatian diplomacy for this. “The criminal inertness of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs has led to the present state. Why do all those with whom I speak show incredible ignorance about BiH? The Finnish Prime Minister doesn’t even know that BiH has already requested candidate status. Whose job was it to convey this message to the Office of the Finnish Prime Minister at least in the past month? The work is not being done so that it does not compromise someone’s personal plans”, President Milanović stated.

Asked what he expects from Prime Minister Plenković in this situation, he replied: “I don’t expect anything, his behaviour and his actions indicate that he won’t do anything. But it’s my obligation to say this”. Journalists were interested in hearing his view on which of the countries mentioned deserve candidate status. “They all do. For Ukraine I say – it can because the reasons are political, there are no technical conditions. And it should not be tied to these criteria, it will never meet them. Neither will BiH. And one should turn a blind eye in BiH’s case”, he replied.