Members of the BiH Parliamentary Committee for EU Integration, the FBiH Parliament, the RS National Assembly and members of the newly formed Committee for the EU Integration of the Brcko District Assembly visited Brussels from 28 to 29 May. The visit was organised within ‘Parliament for Europe’, an outreach initiative of the EU Special Representative in BiH.
“The latest visit to Brussels was characterised by the concern and disappointment of senior EU officials with the lack of progress made to meet the pledged and signed obligations of BiH on the path to EU integration. They were well aware that the system established by the Dayton Constitution is the main cause. Such a system enables blockades and creates conditions for a lack of agreement in adopting key decisions. One of them is the Sejdic-Finci case”, said BiH House of Representatives member, Nermina Zaimovic-Uzunovic.
She added that it was really helpful to hear critics of EU leaders on their work, although she thinks that every one of them knows the sad truth of the failure.
“It is good to reiterate the remarks on the work of the BiH authorities, but this situation in BiH lasts too long so it is hard to expect easy and fast solutions taking in account system in BiH. The Parliament for Europe is an excellent project, which has helped parliamentarians to make responsible decisions on the EU integration and understand the processes better”, she said.
A member of the FBiH Parliament, Slavica Josipovic, said that she unfortunately did not hear a single positive evaluation on the progress of BiH. “I have heard from the key people involved in the processes in BiH how many problems we have, how far BiH lags behind, and how BiH politicians are those who bear the responsibility for it. . Unfortunately, the most significant message was the one from Doris Pack, stating how close we are to BiH being completely isolated. I think that the EU project Parliament for Europe could be beneficial for us. We heard that it is our obligation as participants in this project to indicate in our parties and parliaments possible problems that BiH might have if we continue like this, and as a result suffer most citizens in BiH“ she said.
“I believe that a more active role of all four Committees for EU Integration would be very useful for seeing progress towards the solution of the Sejdic-Finci case and in building legislation with integrated EU directives, which would be compatible in the entire BiH territory. The project Parliament for Europe is useful because it enables parliamentarians to ask questions to their leaders and governments on issues that they do not have sufficient information on. The visit to Ambassador of the Mission of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the EU Mr Igor Davidovic was very useful, primarily because of his knowledge of the situation and the specific measures he presented. I believe that this is the best project of the EU Delegation to BiH because of the long-term effects it will produce”, emphasized a member of the RS National Assembly Committee for the EU Integration and Regional Co-operation, Radmila Kocic.
“It was interesting to hear during the meetings how the EU officials, especially the exposition of Doris Pack and Jelko Kacin, presented the current situation of BiH, the mutual political and economic status of BiH and the EU, as undertaken or not undertaken activities concerning the accession to the EU. Unenviable position of our country in the process of the EU integration was, unfortunately, clearly and unambiguously presented to us exclusively because the defined obligations were not implemented. The information I heard significantly contributes to creating the overall image about where the EU is positioning BiH in the enlargement process. The visit to Brussels and meeting with senior officials contributed to gaining indispensable and highly useful experience I will gladly expand by attending similar initiatives of the Parliament for Europe”, said member of the Committee for the EU Integration of the Brcko District Assembly, Miodrag Peranovic.
Although the latest opinion polls indicate that over 75% of BiH citizens support the European integration of their country, there was no significant progress made in the relevant activities, such as the implementation of the Sejdic-Finci ruling, or in the establishment of an EU co-ordination mechanism. As the result, BiH is currently lagging behind other countries in the region. Those were the key messages that were sent to the BiH delegation.
The EUSR developed the initiative Parliament for Europe in order to help parliamentarians to fulfil the demanding legislative programme necessary to meet obligations stemming from the Stabilisation and Association Agreement. The aim is to encourage an active, informative and constructive involvement in the process of the integration of BiH into the EU.
