Krišto: Decision on BiH Court Law postponed to March 19

(Patria) - Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Borjana Krišto addressed the public after today's session of the BiH Council of Ministers, stating that they did not make a decision on the BiH Court Law.

"We did not manage to make a decision at the session - the relevant minister proposed that they need additional time, five to seven days, so we postponed the decision on this law to the session on March 19," Krišto stated.

Also, the Personal Data Protection Law was supposed to be considered at the session.

"However, by the time the session started, we had not received the necessary opinions. The committees at the BiH Council of Ministers had not considered it, so we were not ready to add it to the agenda. But, in any case, this very important law should be on the agenda of the March 19 session," she added.

"We also had a certain number of decisions related to the EU path, on which we did not make a decision today, and we adopted some. So, I can say that I am satisfied with all that we have done today."

She emphasized that the BiH Council of Ministers works on the principle of consensus and compromise.

"I hope that this principle has led us to propose the opening of negotiations between the EU and BiH. The final decision of the European Council awaits us. I hope that all member states will give the green light and that they will respond positively to what the Council of Ministers has done in the past 13 months," Krišto said.

She added that numerous issues remain to be worked on. She stressed that this includes electoral reform, which will ensure equal rights for all citizens in BiH.

"Our obligation is to work on all laws, including the court law, border control, personal data, electoral law, and the new law on the HJPC. All these reforms we are implementing are necessary for us in BiH for the functioning of BiH as a rule of law. We are obliged to establish an Appellate Division, and its seat is a point of contention. Discussions on the Electoral Law are ongoing at the working group level. I see no reason why all Constitutional Court and European court rulings should not be implemented. If there is a parliamentary majority at the level of Parliament, it can vote for changes it can, while changes to the Constitution require a two-thirds majority," Krišto said.

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen confirmed today that this institution will recommend the opening of accession negotiations between the European Union and Bosnia and Herzegovina during the day, and the final decision will be made by the European Council at its session on March 21.