Čović's Finger in America's Eye: HDZ Submits New Draft Law on Southern Interconnection to the FBiH Parliament, BH Gas Excluded from Project

(Patria) - Despite warnings from the State Department, the HDZ BiH has prepared and submitted to the parliamentary procedure a new draft law on the "Southern Interconnection BiH-RH" gas pipeline, which, once again, excludes BH Gas from the management of this gas pipeline. The draft was submitted to the registry of the House of Peoples of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina on March 7 by HDZ delegate Damir Džeba, but the document was distributed to other delegates only last week, i.e., on March 27 of this year, Istraga reports.

HDZ's new draft law can be read at this link. The key article is Article 5.

"The investment holder of the gas pipeline project 'Southern Interconnection Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republic of Croatia' is designated as the Company for Production and Transport of Gas 'Južna plinska interkonekcija' d.o.o. Mostar (hereinafter: the investor)," states paragraph 1 of Article 5 of the HDZ draft law.

The investor, it continues, will realize the construction project of the gas pipeline "Southern Interconnection Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republic of Croatia" in two directions, whose construction will start simultaneously:
a) construction of the interconnection transport gas pipeline in Bosnia and Herzegovina on the route Republic of Croatia/Bosnia and Herzegovina border – Posušje – Tomislavgrad – Šuica – Kupres – Bugojno – Novi Travnik-Travnik with branches towards Livno, Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje and Jajce; b) construction of the transport gas pipeline in Bosnia and Herzegovina on the route Posušje – Grude – Široki Brijeg – Mostar.

"The coordinates of the interconnection point of the transport systems are defined by a special agreement between two neighboring transport system operators, namely: the Company for Production and Transport of Gas 'Južna plinska interkonekcija' d.o.o. Mostar from Bosnia and Herzegovina with its seat in Mostar, as a public enterprise founded by the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and 'Plinacro' d.o.o. from the Republic of Croatia," is stated in the draft law.

Thus, the HDZ proposes that the founder of the enterprise be the Federation of BiH, but that its seat be in Mostar. BH Gas is not mentioned at all in this law.

Three cantonal governments are also introduced into the entire business of this project – the Government of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, the Government of the West Herzegovina Canton, and the Government of the Central Bosnia Canton. These three cantonal governments, in which the HDZ BiH has the main say, "will carry out the necessary procedure for the realization of the Southern Interconnection project" and will "cooperate with the investor."
Let us recall, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken sent a letter on January 17 of this year to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of BiH, Elmedin Konaković, in which he asked him to influence HDZ leader Dragan Čović to resolve the issue of the Southern Interconnection.

"We call on the House of Peoples of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to pass the law on the Southern Interconnection, which was developed in consultation with international experts and represents a key step towards permitting, financing, and construction of the gas pipeline. BH-Gas, the transmission system operator in the Federation, must implement this project to ensure the much-needed energy security of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

We encourage the company (BH GAS) to undertake necessary governance reforms to empower it to serve all residents of the Federation. Given that this project is in the clear interest of your country and the region, I encourage you and others in your government to pressure the leader of the HDZ of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dragan Čović, to end his obstruction on this matter. Čović's demands for the formation of a new transmission system operator in the Federation are duplicative, economically unsustainable, and jeopardize the entire project. Such blatant corruption and self-dealing could jeopardize Bosnia and Herzegovina's path to the EU," Blinken stated.

However, the leader of the HDZ BiH, Dragan Čović, reacted sharply to that letter, saying that he does not give up on his intention for the Southern Interconnection to be managed by a new company whose seat would be in Mostar. The HDZ president was openly supported by Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.

The U.S. Embassy reacted sharply several times to Čović's statements, journalists close to the HDZ from Washington announced U.S. sanctions against Dragan Čović, but nothing concrete has been done to date.
The Government of the FBiH, led by Nermin Nikšić, last year, immediately after taking office, withdrew from the parliamentary procedure the Law on the Southern Interconnection, which stipulated that BH Gas would manage this gas pipeline.

Although Nikšić promised American diplomats that during March the FBiH Government would submit an identical draft law to the parliamentary procedure, this did not happen. Instead, the Club of Delegates from the ranks of the Croatian people submitted a new draft law to the House of Peoples of the FBiH. BH Gas, contrary to the demands of the USA, was excluded from the project.