Dodik could face criticism in Brussels

BRUSSELS, (Patria) - Chairman of the BiH Presidency Milorad Dodik will submit answers to additional questions from the European Commission's Questionnaire for BiH in Brussels on Monday, after which he will hold a meeting with Commissioner for Enlargement Johannes Hahn and EU High Representative Federica Mogherini.

One of the basic requirements that can be heard from European officials towards BiH politicians is the soonest possible formation of government and further implementation of necessary reforms in order to ensure a better life for citizens. Almost five months have passed since the General Elections in BiH, and the process of forming the government has not yet been completed. Only the Houses of Peoples at the FBiH and BiH levels have been formed.

The government at the state level should be formed by the majority election winners SNSD, HDZ BiH, and SDA. Although these three parties with their satellites have the necessary majority, SDA does not want to form a government without the so-called fourth partner. SDA President Bakir Izetbegović has held talks with the leaders of the BH bloc (SDP, DF, and Naša stranka), which refused to enter into a coalition with SDA and into government, and with the presidents of SBB, A-SDA, and PDA, but it is still unclear who will be SDA's partner(s).

SDA is looking for a partner in government primarily to, as they claim, oppose the anti-state policies of HDZ BiH and SNSD, whose presidents Dragan Čović and Milorad Dodik agreed on an alliance immediately after the elections. Given the absolute majority that HDZ and SNSD have in the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliament, SDA's need not to go into the political ring alone, but also not to bear responsibility for wrong moves and consequences alone, is clear. Although, it was precisely SDA that previously supported some of the SNSD and HDZ delegates, thus ensuring these parties strength in the Houses of Peoples.

Due to such a situation, as well as the refusal of SNSD and HDZ to send the Annual National Plan for activating the MAP, which is a step towards NATO membership, the formation of the BiH Council of Ministers is also on hold. While Čović and Dodik shift all responsibility to SDA or "Bosniak politics", it is the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina who lose the most.

Dodik will have to explain to European officials why he supports the EU path, but not NATO membership, which would stabilize BiH in every sense. While BiH's immediate neighbors, Croatia and Montenegro, are members of the most significant military alliance in the world, certain policies in BiH are doing everything to open further space for destabilizing the situation in the country and strengthening other powers of interest, such as Russia. Dodik could also face serious criticism on Monday for the delay in forming the government as the president of one of the winning parties.