Plenković 'has Čović's back' but for how long: Will confrontation with the US over the Southern Gas Interconnection cost him?

By Amra Vrabac

The president of HDZ BiH, Dragan Čović, announced the arrival of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, Andrej Plenković, in Mostar on June 3. In translation, this means that Plenković, in his first visit to BiH after being re-elected as Prime Minister of the RH following the elections held on April 17, will bypass BiH institutions and Sarajevo, and come for a party-friendly visit to Čović.

Considering Čović's statement that his demand for "legitimate representation" is interpreted as a desire for a third entity and that he will advocate for it, which requires changing the BiH Constitution, Plenković's visit is even more significant.

Local elections will be held in BiH in October, and Čović announced that HDZ BiH is preparing to retain the position of Mayor of Mostar and that the party has 18 votes in the City Council. This would allow HDZ BiH to avoid coalitions and secure an HDZ mayor with its own hands.

Čović angered the US administration with his demands for the establishment of a new gas company based in Mostar that would build the Southern Gas Interconnection, through which gas would flow from Croatia to BiH, instead of BH-Gas. Let's recall the letter from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and the US Embassy's stance that BH-Gas must be the project holder.

"Given that this project is in the clear interest of your country and the region, I encourage you and others in your government to pressure HDZ BiH leader Dragan Čović to cease his obstruction on this matter. Čović's demands for the formation of a new transmission system operator in the Federation are duplicitous, economically unsustainable, and jeopardize the entire project," Blinken wrote in a letter to the head of BiH diplomacy, Elmedin Konaković, in January. He sent the same letter to the Croatian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Gordan Grlić Radman, and stated that the embassies would monitor the situation.

Announcements that Čović could end up under US sanctions or on the "blacklist" due to his stance became increasingly louder. However, Čović had an answer for that too, telling the Americans that he is an "angel and can only end up on some white list".

According to unofficial information, Plenković himself stood up for Čović before the US administration. This happened a few months before the elections in Croatia, so Plenković lobbied for the Americans to wait for the elections to pass. However, Čović still does not give up on the new company, which would allegedly be 100% owned by the FBiH Government. As he colorfully explained, such models already exist in telecommunications, power utilities, and postal services. However, Čović forgot to mention that HDZ has absolute control in these companies, even though they are owned by the FBiH Government, and the same would be the case in the new company that would manage the gas pipeline.

The pressure from HDZ and Čović to change the election of the BiH Presidency member from the Croat people is growing stronger, with Plenković also supporting him, who, during his last visit to Sarajevo with EU officials, avoided meeting with members of the BiH Presidency, including Željko Komšić.


After forming the RH Government, Plenković stated that Croatia would continue to support BiH and be its biggest advocate for joining the European Union and NATO, and that it would continue to help the Croat people in BiH.

Political analyst from Zagreb, Davor Đenero, does not believe there will be any significant changes in relations towards BiH and Croats as one of the constituent peoples.

"The upcoming presidential elections could have a greater impact on policy changes than a change of government, especially considering that foreign policy, and its architect Plenković, remain in the same hands," Đenero told Deutsche Welle, who believes that Plenković's transfer to European institutions is unlikely to happen in this term, which should keep everything on the same basis as before.