Dodik, Nikšić and Čović: Different views on key issues, but talks continue

(Patria) - After the meeting of leaders and delegations of parties that form the state government in Mostar, a press conference was held.

Dragan Čović, president of HDZ BiH, said that three laws, namely the Election Law, the Law on Courts, and the Law on Prevention of Conflict of Interest, were not agreed upon in principle, and that working groups will continue their work in the coming days.

"After lengthy discussions, it was concluded that the commissions should continue to work and, if they reach an agreement, they should proceed. I regret that we did not manage to make such a significant step forward. It is evident that we, as political leaders, have not yet managed to reach an agreement. It is expected that something will be agreed upon. The next session of the Council of Ministers of BiH should be on March 4, and everything that should pass then must also pass the BiH Parliamentary Assembly," he said.

He stated that the EU clearly communicated what needs to be done and that these three laws are the minimum that needs to be completed.

"We will strive to maintain communication between us, which is positive and affirmative, so that by Monday we can say that we have agreed on something. For our decisions to go through the entire procedure, we must complete this work by Monday-Tuesday at the latest if someone is to evaluate it in the EU," Čović said.

The president of SDP BiH, Nermin Nikšić, speaking on behalf of the 'Trojka' parties, said that they are closest to an agreement on the Law on Prevention of Conflict of Interest.

"We remain committed to working and seeking compromises," he said.

Milorad Dodik said that they are asking the European Council for an exact date for negotiations.

"I think we have already done a lot. All three of us underline this, and I believe that without a date for negotiations, this means nothing, and that we will be deceived if there is no exact date. We believe that we can resolve some of these issues in the next seven days," he said, adding that they are also discussing the method of electing judges of the Constitutional Court of BiH.

"Regarding the Election Law, we have managed to define the method for electing the BiH Presidency members and the method for electing the members of the Central Election Commission (CIK), but we must definitively establish this. Republika Srpska insists on directly electing the BiH Presidency member, but it is acceptable to us that in the Federation of BiH, it passes a triage through a 3-2-1 canton with a Croatian majority, but we understand that there are problems. Regarding technical amendments, there is a misunderstanding of what each party wants to achieve. This needs to be studied," Dodik said.

Regarding the election of CIK members, the possibility remains that they will continue to be elected in the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliament, but also that a Commission be formed which would include members of the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliament.

He emphasized that working groups are also working on that law and highlighted the possibility of agreeing on the Law on Prevention of Conflict of Interest.

Regarding the BiH Institutions Budget, it has been harmonized and is now going through the necessary procedure.

"Unlike the previous meeting, we are now in a position to have laws and to resolve two or three issues. Our proposal is for the Appellate Division to be located in Banja Luka. I don't think there is any reason to stop this. The Court of BiH can only make decisions based on laws passed by the BiH Parliament, to introduce order," he added.

He stated that if the High Representative Christian Schmidt imposes anything concerning Republika Srpska, he will withdraw from the process and enact his own election law and conduct elections in his own way.

When asked by a journalist who is to blame for the lack of agreement, Dodik said that if someone needs to be blamed, he is the number one culprit.

The leader of HDZ stated that they want to eliminate the possibility of the Bosniak people electing the Croatian member of the Presidency.

"There was an option to amend the BiH Constitution, but it didn't work. Then we made a minimal proposal to deter the need for Bosniaks to elect the Croatian member of the Presidency. We agreed the most on the Presidency, we agreed to some extent on the election of CIK members, and we made a turn regarding technical amendments. A lot remains. The concept of integrity is problematic for me. Because what greater threat is there than one nation electing the member of the BiH Presidency for another nation?" Čović said.

Nikšić said that they respect the views of HDZ that it must be a whole package, but that they would also agree to amendments concerning only integrity or only the CIK.

"The issue of Presidency members also involves amending the BiH Constitution to implement the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. We believe that the seat of the Appellate Division should be in Istočno Sarajevo, and we have not come closer on that issue," Nikšić said.