Ferguson: The idea of abolishing RS is unacceptable, just as promoting secession

"During my first year in this country, I was surprised by how much political energy in RS is spent on worrying about imagined threats to its continued existence. Political speeches do not talk enough about the real problems faced by ordinary people in Republika Srpska, and in the whole of BiH, in an environment of a damaged economy, high unemployment, and uncontrolled corruption.

Instead, an image is created of Republika Srpska surrounded by enemies, domestic or foreign. This is a politics of insecurity, not hope. But this insecurity is, to say the least, exaggerated and, in my opinion, unnecessary.

The reality is that there is no threat to the existence of Republika Srpska. Yes, there are occasional calls for its abolition by Bosniaks, Croats, or others. But these calls are as unacceptable as attempts by Serbs to undermine state judicial institutions or to promote secession. In accordance with Dayton, BiH is a country with two entities and, with the United Kingdom and our partners as guarantors of the Peace Agreement, it will remain so.

Okay, it is true that in the past we have witnessed the transfer of some competencies from the entities to the state, with the support of the international community. There were, and still are, good reasons for this, and that is why these changes received the support of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly and representatives of the Serb people at the time. Objectively, there are still strong arguments for further centralization in certain areas. If done properly, it would increase coherence, raise standards, and improve efficiency. It would reduce the focus on ethnicity and turn it towards effective service delivery.

But – and this is important – we, along with our EU and US partners, have made it very clear that we will not impose centralization. We are prepared to work with the existing system, not with one that we might wish it to be.

If you don't believe me, look at what we have done so far. Through the British-German initiative, now an EU strategy, we have been very consistent and clear that the relevant levels of government should implement reforms in accordance with their competencies. And the biggest part of the work lies with the entities, not the state. I was present when the British and German Foreign Ministers promised this very clearly to the political leaders on all sides. And this is reiterated in the Joint Statement signed by all political leaders and adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly.

This is also very clear in the reform agenda itself, which the RS Government finally agreed upon on July 24. The state and FBiH governments were ready and waiting since June, and the FBiH Government reacted quickly by successfully adopting the long-awaited new labor law. We hope and expect that the RS Government will do the same very soon, which will open the door to financial support from the EU and the IMF to Bosnia and Herzegovina worth over one billion euros.

It is great that we now have an ambitious and positive reform agenda on the table. These reforms will be neither easy nor painless, but they are desperately needed to stabilize the economy, create new jobs, especially for young people, and strengthen the judicial system.

Implementing reforms will require leadership, courage, and focus. That is good, because, hopefully, there will be less time and energy for the political rivalries that have held this country back while its neighbors have progressed on the path to the EU and NATO.

The reform agenda opens up the possibility for a new, more constructive policy in BiH, with a stronger emphasis on cooperation. For successful implementation, everyone must understand that a secure, prosperous, and European future for the citizens of RS lies only within a secure, prosperous, and European BiH. Similarly, the only way for BiH to be successful is for all its citizens to work together, for the benefit of all – regardless of whether they live in the Federation or RS.

To be clear – accepting the entity structure in BiH does not mean that nothing will change. Costs must be reduced because the public sector is too expensive. And if BiH is to join the EU, which we all hope it will, then change is inevitable. At some point, it will also mean changing the constitution, just as was the case with other new EU members like Croatia. The plan was not for Dayton to be set in stone, but the point is that these changes can only be made through constitutional means. This means that RS not only has the right to vote but also the right to veto, although I hope this right will be used less often and more responsibly in the future. In other words, RS will survive as long as it does not decide to vote for its own end. I, for one, do not see that happening in the foreseeable future, so perhaps we can all afford to relax a little.

The President of RS, Mr. Dodik, recently said that the international community should accept reality, that we should stop denying Republika Srpska, and that in return, RS will not deny BiH. Okay. We accept reality. We support the right of RS to exist, as we have said many times before. What's more, we want it to be successful and to develop, along with the rest of BiH, and we are ready to help it do so. So I sincerely hope that RS will now abandon this unnecessary and unconstitutional referendum. And that we will move forward and constructively work together on reforms, including those in the justice sector, which we all agree are urgently needed."

Blog by the British Ambassador to BiH Edward Ferguson