Analysts: Messages Sent Today by BiH Politicians and Juncker Are Empty

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Chairman of the Presidency of BiH Dragan Čović and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of BiH Denis Zvizdić today handed over the answers to the European Commission Questionnaire to the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker.

During his address, Čović said that this was a huge job, on which more than 1,000 representatives of BiH worked.

„BiH today holds its European path in its own hands,“ said Čović. He added that the elections in October will not slow down Bosnia and Herzegovina's path to the EU, but on the contrary, he said, they will accelerate it. 

During his address, Juncker said that from today, Europe and BiH will go together.

„This is an important day and I want to pay tribute to all those who were involved in this huge job... I cannot tell you the date when your country will become a candidate, if there are additional questions, then we will present them to your services and we will go step by step,“ said Juncker.

"Today is a great day for my country BiH. I am waiting for our European friends to hand over the answers to the Questionnaire. Together for a European BiH," Čović wrote today on Twitter.

On the other hand, experts and analysts assess that neither the domestic authorities nor the officials of the European Union have offered the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina anything credible. Similar messages, they believe, have been sent before, but people are still leaving the country, and the economy is at a low level.

International relations expert Dr. Zlatko Hadžidedić stated for N1 that the submission of the answers to the EU Questionnaire is „yet another charade.“

"This is in no way a historic day. Regarding the EU's intentions when it comes to BiH, we could see through the European Commission's strategy. It was clearly stated that BiH is not among the candidates," stated Hadžidedić. 

"Serbia and Montenegro were given a specified timeframe, a roadmap, the steps they need to take. BiH, Macedonia, Albania were left outside all frameworks," he stated. 

"We were told that we will essentially never be part of Europe because the current leadership in Brussels does not consider us part of Europe. Whether someone will look at us differently in 10 years, we will see. Handing over the Questionnaire is a charade," assessed Hadžidedić. He added that Brussels did nothing while the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina lasted, and did not try to stop the war until Washington got involved. 

"Everything was heading towards the partition of BiH. My proposal is to turn to all sides whose interests may coincide with ours. When Brussels is not the only address you turn to - they will treat you differently. When Turkey turned to Moscow, Tehran - it became interesting to Brussels, even though they had humiliated it until then. Turkey could have been part of the EU in every respect," he stated. 

He also said that Turkey does not suit the EU because it is a country with a majority Muslim population, and that the European Commission's Strategy for the Western Balkan countries omitted countries with a Muslim population, such as Albania, Kosovo, BiH, and partly Macedonia.

Professor of International Law and Global Political Studies at the University of Vienna Dr. Anis Bajraktarević says that the situation in BiH can be commented on in the way a sports commentator once commented on Željezničar's performance in a match: „Željo started weakly, and then later gave up.“

When asked what lies behind the constant talk from the EU about the importance of the Western Balkans, while concrete steps are lacking, Bajraktarević said that after all the sacrifices it suffered, Bosnia and Herzegovina should have been admitted to the EU urgently, but that did not happen.

„It is a stalling tactic,“ believes Professor Bajraktarević, who spoke about the EU's relationship with BiH on BHT, as reported by the Patria news agency. He added that the EU did nothing to stop the war in BiH until Washington got involved in the negotiations, and that it still gives priority to the accession of Serbia and Montenegro to the EU, thereby showing a recipe for new problems in BiH.

Analyst from Banja Luka Tanja Topić believes that there is a very clear rift between the messages sent by politicians and what is happening in reality.

„We have heard similar messages recently,“ said Topić on BHT. She added that she would like there to be a sufficiently aware public in BiH that will monitor the realization of the promises and messages that Čović sent today, after which it could be assessed after some time whether those messages were well-founded.