Dodik and Varhelyi agreed on the date of the Special Session of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska and the dynamics of implementing conclusions

(Patria) - European Commissioner for Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi agreed with Milorad Dodik at the end of November this year on holding a special session of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska to discuss the issue of transferring competencies from the BiH level to the entity level. This European Union official also agreed with Dodik that the conclusions would come into effect six months later.

This is confirmed by the report of the Head of the EU Delegation to BiH, Johann Sattler, which was sent to Brussels on November 25. Istraga.ba is in possession of this document, and its authenticity has been confirmed by three diplomatic sources. Ambassador Sattler wrote this report immediately after the visit of the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi, to Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he met with BiH officials and leaders of the largest political parties in BiH on November 24 and 25. The document stated that the main culprit for the crisis is the former High Representative in BiH, Valentin Inzko. But we will get to that later. Let's return to the special session of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska. Johann Sattler writes that Oliver Varhelyi and SNSD leader Milorad Dodik discussed activities related to the special session of the National Assembly of RS, Istraga.ba reports.

"At the Special Session of the NSRS planned for December 10, the Commissioner (Oliver Varhelyi, note by the editor) clarified that the session would indeed take place, but that a moratorium on adopting laws on unilateral withdrawal from state institutions would be announced for a period of 6 months. This was agreed upon, and representatives of RS will be held responsible for any contrary actions," Sattler stated in his report.

Although the details of the agreement were not specified further in the report, it is clear that the European Commissioner for Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi and SNSD leader Milorad Dodik "agreed" on the date of the special session, as well as the dynamics of the "entry into force" of the conclusions related to the transfer of competencies in the areas of security and defense, indirect taxes, and judiciary. Sattler's report, as we said, was written on November 25, and this document specified that the Special Session of the NSRS was planned for December 10. However, it should be noted that the Collegium of the National Assembly of RS formally made the decision on December 7 that the Special Session would be held on December 10, exactly on the date mentioned in Johann Sattler's report, stating that "it was agreed upon".

That Oliver Varhelyi was benevolent towards Milorad Dodik is also evidenced by the second part of Johann Sattler's report, which states that the main culprit for the crisis in BiH is the former High Representative Valentin Inzko.

"Emphasizing the importance of the OHR's mandate and that the current High Representative (Christian) Schmidt is not to blame for the current situation, the Commissioner (Varhelyi) shared his sincere assessment that his predecessor, High Representative Inzko, is also to blame for the current political crisis in BiH. Although Inzko's amendments cannot be challenged from the perspective of the law's content, the problematic aspect was the fact that they were imposed on the last day of High Representative Inzko's mandate," Johann Sattler stated in his report compiled after the visit of the European Commissioner for Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi.

By blaming Inzko for causing the crisis, Varhelyi, according to Sattler's notes, "explained that Dodik's statements in the media about state property were reserved and more of a smokescreen than a real fire." However, regardless of this, the European Commissioner for Enlargement believes that negotiations should be opened regarding three fundamental issues – state property, electoral reform, and amendments to the BiH Criminal Code, i.e., amendments to the amendments imposed by the OHR, or rather, the former High Representative Valentin Inzko.