Krnjić Refuses Consent: New Gradiška Border Crossing Won't Open as Management Board Won't Prioritize Inter-Entity Settlement

At today's session of the Management Board of the Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH (ITA), which was scheduled due to the collapse of the fence on the bridge at the current Gradiška border crossing, the proposal to give consent for the opening of the newly built Gradiška border crossing did not receive support, writes Istraga.ba.

Member of the ITA Management Board, Zijad Krnjić, refused to yield to the pressure exerted on him in recent days by the authorities of Republika Srpska. Krnjić insisted, as in the past, that a decision on the distribution of VAT revenues be adopted first, in order to compensate for the damage that Republika Srpska is causing to the Federation of BiH. The debt of Republika Srpska to the Federation of BiH currently exceeds 150 million KM.

The Minister of Finance and member of the ITA Management Board, Srđan Amidžić, requested that the Management Board first decide on the opening of the new Gradiška border crossing, and then, at a new session to be held half an hour later, the settlement between the entities be considered. Krnjić insisted that the vote on the settlement come first, followed by the opening of the new border crossing.

As we previously reported, there was no damage to the structure of the bridge in Gradiška, but only to the pedestrian bridge fence. This was the reason to suspend traffic through this border crossing "for security reasons" and to put pressure on Zijad Krnjić to vote in the ITA Management Board for the opening of the new border crossing at Gradiška. The Director of the BiH Border Police, Mirko Kuprešaković, wrote in a letter to the Ministry of Security and the Ministry of Communications and Transport of BiH that there was a collapse of "part of the protective fence of the bridge" over the Sava River, i.e., "loosening of the fence structure".

We remind you that Krnjić has been demanding for years that the ITA Management Board comply with legal regulations and distribute funds fairly, which members from Republika Srpska refuse to do.