Nikšić: Recommendations we received from EC are a 'basket' for BiH in an elegant way

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The recommendations that the European Commission gave to Bosnia and Herzegovina to fulfill are a „basket“ in an elegant way, believes the president of SDP BiH Nermin Nikšić.

He said in the Dnevnik of Federal Television on Thursday evening that it is completely clear that the current authorities cannot fulfill these recommendations, reports the Patria agency.

Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn presented on Wednesday a new report on countries that want to become members of the European Union, including Bosnia and Herzegovina. Hahn emphasized that BiH must implement reforms if it wants to become a member of the European Union, stressing that these reforms primarily relate to the rule of law, which is at a rather low level in BiH.

„As if they were racing to provide conditions that would enable those who are now in a position to block BiH's path to the EU,“ said Nikšić.

He added that if the European Commission and the European Union wanted to accept Bosnia and Herzegovina as a serious partner, the only way was to give the country candidate status, and then to select chapters to be fulfilled on that EU path of Bosnia and Herzegovina, such as the fight against corruption.

„Bosnia and Herzegovina and its citizens remain hostages of parliamentary majorities,“ said the SDP leader.

He stated that SDP will support everything that is in the interest of the state, but, he said, the question is how those who clearly do not accept it will relate to that.

„I think that citizens should start being told the truth, that we should not give them colorful lies,“ said Nikšić.

Further explaining the reforms set before BiH, such as changes to the Election Law, the SDP president said that changes to that law are not questionable, but the problem is what HDZ demands to be built into those changes, which in principle, said Nikšić, means the introduction of new discriminations „that SDP cannot support.“