Republika Srpska cannot accept measures that would strip away its competencies in the negotiations on BiH’s path to the European Union, stated the Prime Minister of Republika Srpska Radovan Višković, following the submission of the Reform List for the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans to Brussels, where 110 out of 113 measures were agreed upon.
The remaining three measures, one of which involves abolishing the entity veto, effectively mean the abolition of Republika Srpska. If Brussels accepts the submitted Reform List without the three unresolved conditions, it remains uncertain how funds will be allocated since the BiH budget has not been adopted.
Funds for BiH from the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, amounting to one billion euros, will not be disbursed until the local authorities fulfill the three remaining conditions from the Reform List, warned the Prime Minister of Republika Srpska. Accepting a call center at the BiH level, filling the Constitutional Court with Serbian judges where foreigners and Bosniaks make decisions unilaterally, and abolishing the entity veto in BiH institutions would practically mean the abolition of Republika Srpska.
- “You don’t have to give us the one billion euros you are talking about; give us 970 million. Inform us that these three unresolved measures are ‘red lines’ that cannot be crossed and that they are a condition for the Growth Plan and aid to BiH. As long as I hold this position, I cannot accept these three measures. This is not caprice, nor is it an attempt by Republika Srpska to undermine BiH’s European path, but rather it is about resisting the imposition on Republika Srpska,” said Višković.
Brussels has not yet officially responded as to whether the agreed Reform List is sufficient for approving the one billion euros, one-third of which is grants, and two-thirds are loans.
- “I believe that the funds will be approved, but let’s not deceive the citizens of BiH into thinking that these two billion KM will come without additional conditions; they will be disbursed in tranches,” said Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers Staša Košarac.
If the European Commission accepts the Reform List and approves the funds from the Growth Plan, the first tranche of 140 million KM should be available by June. However, this again raises issues. Without an adopted BiH budget for 2024, it is impossible to allocate this money. The budget has not been adopted because federal partners are obstructing the fair distribution of funds from excise taxes, RAK profits, and VAT. Partners in power attempted to resolve this deadlock at a recent meeting in Sarajevo.
- “We said RAK, excise taxes, VAT, and resolve it. Since 2012, Republika Srpska is owed 50 million KM. If they finish everything agreed upon regarding the budget, the budget will be adopted. If not, it will be as it has been, what can we do? Is it up to us? No, it is not,” said the President of SNSD, Milorad Dodik.
Federal partners pretend to be unaware and question why their colleagues from Republika Srpska link the adoption of the budget with the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans. The logic of Serbian politicians is very clear: why adopt the BiH budget while the Federation blocks the fair distribution of funds. In their “bewilderment,” they admit that the problem “resides” in the Federation.
- “There are some preliminary issues, which people from Republika Srpska are asking for, which we discussed earlier about the distribution of funds, which is indeed an issue within the Federation, but that is neither a formal condition nor an issue for the BiH budget,” said SDP BiH President Nermin Nikšić.
Agreeing on the Reform List to obtain funds from the Growth Plan was not easy; initially, there were even 40 problematic measures, which were narrowed down to three unacceptable ones for Republika Srpska. The key issue is the demand to abolish the entity veto, initially in the State Aid Council and the BiH Competition Council as a precursor to a much worse scenario.
- “In the next step, this will likely be extended to the Parliament and the House of Peoples. In that case, I hope no one in Republika Srpska, including the Prime Minister or anyone else, would sign such a measure, as it would essentially mean signing away Republika Srpska,” said Višković.
Republika Srpska has recognized yet another attempt to use the guise of economic progress and millions from the European treasury to abolish the entity veto through the backdoor, which is the fundamental mechanism for protecting Republika Srpska in Dayton BiH.
Source: RTRS
