SYSTEM FAILURE: State coalition has not met since October 16, not even the meeting in Brussels brought a resolution!

By: Amra Vrabac

The last formal meeting of the state-level coalition was held on October 16 in East Sarajevo, hosted by Milorad Dodik, president of SNSD.

Although a new meeting was announced for 15 days later, to be hosted by the trio (SDP, NIP, NS), this meeting did not take place.

On November 1, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, visited BiH, but even after her visit, the state coalition did not convene. The Council of Ministers of BiH has not adopted a single law from the set of reform laws, so they could not be on the agenda of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly.

At the end of November, a meeting between the president of HDZ BiH, Dragan Čović, and representatives of the trio was held in the BiH Parliamentary Assembly after a second attempt. It was then emphasized that there is agreement among these parties on important issues and that positions should be coordinated with SNSD as well.

However, a meeting with Dodik did not take place, despite the upcoming trip to Brussels, where about a hundred BiH officials and their entourages promised to fulfill European obligations. But precisely during that period, there was no agreement among ministers of Bosniak ethnicity on the proposal submitted by the Minister of Security of BiH, Nenad Nešić, regarding cooperation with Frontex. In that agreement, entities are equated with the state level.

Dodik announced from Brussels that the Law on Courts could be adopted, insisting that the seat of the Appellate Division be in Banja Luka, as well as the Law on Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorist Activities, but he admitted that there is a deadlock, especially concerning the BiH Constitutional Court. For some other contentious issues, he proposed that they be "resolved by the entities simultaneously," which undermines the state and state institutions.

Konaković also made a statement from Brussels, announcing a new meeting of the state coalition, but it did not happen. Dragan Čović's optimism seems to have faded, as he has not commented much on the meeting in Brussels.

Although a session of the BiH Council of Ministers followed on December 7, there were no laws on the agenda.

A new session of the BiH Council of Ministers is scheduled for December 12, and there is not a single law on the extensive agenda, neither a reform law nor any other that would make life easier for citizens in BiH.

During the breaks between sessions, SNSD initiated the dismissal of the Minister of Defense, Zukan Helez, which will be on the agenda of the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly on December 21. On the same session, there is also a request for the dismissal of SNSD's Staša Košarac, proposed by opposition representatives from FBiH and RS.

It is evident that there is a deadlock at the state level, and the deadlines set by the leaders themselves have long been missed. While Čović insists on the Election Law and Dodik on the BiH Constitutional Court, the trio has not yet clearly articulated its positions and demands to its partners.

The trio's position is also complicated by the fact that they must deliver a large number of positions at the Federation of BiH level to HDZ, which is justifiably hindered by the opposition.