SDA Collegium Adopts Conclusions on BiH's European Path, FTV Management Board, and BH Telecom Acquisition!

(Patria) - The Collegium of the Party of Democratic Action adopted several conclusions on current topics and issues at its session today.

"1. Due to the incompetence of the current state authorities, Bosnia and Herzegovina will miss the opportunity to get the green light for the formal opening of negotiations with the European Union at the next European Council session on June 26 and 27.

From the euphoria and optimism of March 2024, when BiH received the European Commission's recommendation to open negotiations, the ruling coalition (Trojka, HDZ, SNSD) has been unable to fulfill even the minimum conditions for obtaining a negotiation date and the first intergovernmental conference. Instead of appointing a chief negotiator and adopting two laws that would be harmonized with the European legal acquis and the Venice Commission's recommendations, the current government has used this opportunity to fulfill party and personal interests by attempting to adopt laws that would further weaken the judiciary.

Numerous announcements and promises, spearheaded by NIP president Konaković and the leaders of Our Party, have turned into a complete fiasco. Instead of the promised concrete results or resignation from their positions if they do not materialize, Trojka is offering the public a new series of populism, transparent spins, and quarrels with coalition partners. The 'new negotiators,' as they called themselves, are failing to oust SNSD from power, and disputes with HDZ are becoming more frequent, through which Trojka is trying to improve its public image. Bosnia and Herzegovina and its citizens gain nothing from this," the first conclusion of the SDA Collegium states.

The second conclusion states: "We welcome the decision of the Bosniak Club in the Parliament of the Federation of BiH to submit a request to the Constitutional Court of the FBiH for an assessment of the constitutionality of the Law on Debt, Borrowing, and Guarantees in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This law was adopted through an urgent and improper procedure. The intention is to enable uncontrolled borrowing by the FBiH Government, following the example of the authorities in the RS entity.

The imposed FBiH Government, now without the consent of the FBiH Parliament, intends to continue enormous and uncontrolled borrowing by the Federation, including on foreign stock exchanges, following the example of the RS entity. Instead of strictly controlled loans for infrastructure projects, which usually have low interest rates, the Government apparently plans to borrow at four times higher interest rates to cover budget holes.

In two years of governance, Nikšić's government has increased the internal debt of the Federation by more than a billion KM, and no one knows specifically what that money was spent on."

"3. We warn that the activities of the BH Telecom Management in its intention to buy the company Telemach raise suspicions and open numerous dilemmas. Given that it is a company majority-owned by the FBiH, the public must not be deprived of basic information. The BH Telecom Management must provide answers to a series of questions and clarify ambiguities.

First and foremost, it must be answered whether it is true that BH Telecom plans to borrow 745 million KM for this acquisition, and that a complete inventory of the company's assets is being made to be mortgaged, which is information that has appeared in the public?

Who and by what methodology assessed the value of Telemach? What exactly is the subject of the purchase, exclusively Telemach or related companies such as Total TV, EON, N1 television...?

If it is known that Telemach's profit is less than 20 million KM, in how many years will the investment pay off, considering the announced borrowing of 745 million KM? How were or will the banks that will finance this purchase be selected, under what conditions is the loan being taken?

Who is negotiating the purchase on behalf of BH Telecom, and are these negotiations taking place through direct contacts at meetings with private owners? Is there a consensus within the BH Telecom Management for decisions related to the purchase of Telemach, and do the general director and management have the support of the Supervisory Board, the relevant ministry, and the FBiH Government itself for all decisions?

Is there a risk that the enormous borrowing will jeopardize the technical development of BH Telecom, such as the 5G network, and endanger the company's operations and liquidity? How will the potential enormous borrowing affect the status of BH Telecom employees? Will such a heavily indebted company continue to support socially responsible projects in the fields of sports, culture, and education...?" the third conclusion states.