Bajrambašić: In July 2015, we asked Croatia to respect the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea

Izet Bajrambašić, Assistant Minister of Communications and Transport of BiH, who is under forced suspension, reacted to claims that in 2013 he informed the European Commission and Croatia that our country has no intention of building a port in Neum and that consultations were held between him and representatives of the European Union regarding the Kopno-Pelješac bridge.

Bajrambašić told the Patria agency that everything related to the Pelješac bridge and the entry of foreign ships into the part of the Adriatic Sea belonging to BiH was handled within commissions appointed by the Council of Ministers, as the Ministry of Communications and Transport is not competent for these issues.

- I have never held any consultations regarding the Pelješac bridge with the Republic of Croatia or the EU. Within the pre-feasibility study, we discussed a multi-criteria analysis (MCA) for selecting the best option (there were 7 options under consideration) for connecting the southern territory of the Republic of Croatia, which was the goal of the study. It is also evident that I advocate for the legality of options, regardless of which one it is, so the highway passage option (closed type) or a 5 km tunnel in the hinterland of Neum showed maximum feasibility and sustainability. The members of the BiH Commission never gave consent to the Pelješac bridge option (compared to the passage in the hinterland of Neum), which is illegal, with a 4 times higher cost, a length of 32 km, three times slower, and with maximum construction and project sustainability risks according to invested funds and traffic volume. The "Schengen Neum" bypass is 4 times cheaper, a maximum of 10 km long, three times faster, construction is three years shorter, without risks, and the project is sustainable in relation to investment and traffic volume.

Bajrambašić also stated that the Council of Ministers of BiH was regularly informed about the work and results of the Commission through the Chairperson of the Commission from the Directorate for European Integration.

At the request of the Presidency of BiH, the Council of Ministers appointed an "Interdepartmental Working Group for the Analysis of Foreign Ship Entry into the Adriatic Coastal Sea of Bosnia and Herzegovina," and the Council of Ministers of BiH considered and adopted the Report on the Work of the Working Group, with an analysis of the effects of foreign ship entry into the Adriatic Coastal Sea of Bosnia and Herzegovina and recommendations, and in that regard, concluded at the 9th session of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, held on June 2, 2015:

- It is recommended that the competent ministries and other administrative organizations at the level of BiH, entities, cantons, and municipalities take measures and activities within their competencies to implement the recommendations contained in the document "Analysis of the Effects of Foreign Ship Entry into the Adriatic Coastal Sea of BiH."
- The Ministry of Communications and Transport of BiH, the Ministry of Security of BiH, and the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of BiH are tasked with leading and coordinating the implementation of the aforementioned recommendations.

The Report specifically highlighted that:

- The joint team of BiH and the Republic of Croatia shall complete its tasks according to the Decision on the appointment of a joint negotiation team with the Republic of Croatia on the application of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and maritime delimitation (Official Gazette of BiH No. 31/14), adopted by the Council of Ministers at its 89th session on April 4, 2014, and that, by applying the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, foreign ships shall anchor at a suitable location in the access corridor of BiH to the open sea - the Report states.

Former Minister Slavko Matanović sent a letter on July 20, 2015, to the Croatian Ministry of the Sea, Transport, and Infrastructure, which explicitly states that the Croatian side is asked to form its team because "it is necessary to finally start negotiations on the application of the Convention."

The letter also emphasized that a bilateral agreement on the application of the Convention should precede any construction activities in this part of the Adriatic Sea.

However, after Matanović's dismissal, the ministerial position was vacant for six months, and these tasks were performed by Deputy Minister Saša Dalipagić and Secretary Igor Pejić. They should answer whether they took any action during that period and whether any responses were received from the Republic of Croatia. Minister Ismir Jusko officially took office in May 2016, and his associates were supposed to brief him on these open issues.

In July 2016, when the contract for the construction of the bridge at Svilaj was signed, Jusko also made a statement about the Pelješac bridge:

- The expert team of Bosnia and Herzegovina and representatives of Croatia agreed on positions regarding the Pelješac bridge back in 2006. If the expert teams have already agreed on the construction of the bridge, I don't see anything controversial about it - said the BiH minister, adding that he would inform the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina about the existing documents and positions that were agreed upon 10 years ago. But this has not been done to date.