Picula: Dilemmas about whether positive changes are possible within today's BiH are still alive

The first meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee for Stabilization and Association between the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH and the European Parliament, chaired by the Head of the European Parliament Delegation for relations with BiH, Tonino Picula, ended in failure!, writes the BiH news agency Patria (NAP).

Picula therefore stated that the EU's new approach to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the entry into force of the SAA were gestures of encouragement and a kind of credit for the country's European future, but the failure to constitute the Joint Committee leaves alive the dilemmas about whether positive changes are possible in relations within today's BiH as a prerequisite for adopting European standards in many areas.

The meeting in Sarajevo lasted two days and was supposed to result in certain conclusions, but that did not happen because the rules of procedure for this committee were not adopted.

- Unfortunately, they were not adopted due to the resistance of a part of the BiH representatives who insisted that decisions be made by a qualified majority, i.e., that the procedures of the Committee on European Affairs of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH be mirrored in the Rules of Procedure of the SAPC. But that would be an unacceptable precedent.

However, we proposed to the BiH side to organize an internal vote on topics as they wish before the joint vote.

Unfortunately, the compromise I offered was rejected, although it was supported not only by colleagues from the European Parliament but also by a part of the BiH delegation. The direct consequence of the rejection is that we could not proceed with work on joint recommendations – said Pucila after the meeting, adding that they will have to continue seeking a joint solution at the next opportunity, which will be in June 2016.

This was the inaugural meeting of representatives of the European Parliament and representatives of the BiH parliament at a new level, after the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) entered into force, where the Declaration and recommendations, as well as the Rules of Procedure, were to be adopted.

The goal of the meeting in Sarajevo was the constitution of the Joint Parliamentary Committee – two weeks before the first meeting of the Stabilization and Association Council. In addition, the BiH Presidency announced the upcoming submission of the country's application for EU membership, writes NAP.