Croatia seeks free export to BiH, but has never returned our property after the breakup of Yugoslavia

The international community has once again shown double standards towards Bosnia and Herzegovina, writes the Patria news agency.

On Tuesday, negotiations began on the adaptation of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the EU and Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the part concerning trade. The EU demands that Bosnia and Herzegovina abolish customs duties on imports of goods from Croatia, as well as from the other 27 EU member states. Analysts see this primarily as a bailout for Croatia's struggling economy, at the expense of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This would partly save the Croatian economy, but would certainly destroy businesses from BiH.

Croatia, and the rest of the EU, justify these unfair demands towards Bosnia and Herzegovina with international rights on free trade and BiH's desire to one day become an EU member. However, it should be noted that to this day Croatia has not respected another very important international right, namely to return to Bosnia and Herzegovina the property of BiH that remained in Croatia after the breakup of the former Yugoslavia.

State property expert Muharem Cero tells Patria that Croatia still has not returned to Bosnia and Herzegovina property whose value is estimated at several hundred million KM.

Croatia, as the youngest EU member, has not returned the property of Bosnia and Herzegovina, even though it committed to doing so under the Agreement on Succession Issues, which it signed on 29 June 2001 in Vienna. The Agreement on Succession Issues was signed on behalf of Bosnia and Herzegovina by Zlatko Lagumdžija, on behalf of Serbia, i.e. the then Yugoslavia, by Goran Svilanović, on behalf of Slovenia by Dimitrij Rupel, on behalf of Macedonia by Nikola Todorčevski, while on behalf of Croatia, the Croatian diplomat Tonino Picula affixed his signature.

Picula, currently a member of the European Parliament, is imposing rules of conduct on Bosnia and Herzegovina if BiH wishes to become part of the European Union.

One copy is deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who acts as depositary, writes the Patria agency. (aa)