Political elites and citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina at a crossroads: Either 'constituentness' or the EU

By: Prof. dr. Hazim Bašić, member of the Presidency of Krug 99

The latest European Commission (EC) report on Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2025 brings nothing unexpected, nothing new that the BiH public is not already experiencing. Right at the beginning of the Report, which is about a hundred pages long, when discussing the development of democracy, the Commission states that Bosnia and Herzegovina has neither a functional constitutional framework nor an electoral system that ensures political equality of citizens.

This statement is the key part of the Report for Cluster 1 (Fundamentals of the Accession Process), which states: 'The general framework for holding elections requires significant reforms. Constitutional reforms are needed to ensure the political equality and non-discrimination of all citizens. The integrity of the electoral process must be improved, in line with the recommendations of international bodies. Political parties must respect the independence of the Central Election Commission (CEC)'.

In just a few sentences, the EC lays bare the fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina is still not a state of equal people, but a system of rule by ethnic elites who interpret democratic principles as a threat to their own power.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is being asked for constitutional reforms that will give all citizens an equal right to vote and be elected. This is not a technical issue, but a fundamental test of political will, as well as the courage of political elites. Five judgments of the European Court of Human Rights have stood for years as a mirror of the hypocrisy of domestic politicians: they all swear by Europe, but no one wants to change the system that guarantees them ethnic monopoly.

To this should be added the first-instance judgment in the case 'Kovačević vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina', in which, after considering the merits, a recommendation was made to eliminate constitutional discrimination regarding the right to vote (although this court case was halted under suspicious circumstances at the Grand Chamber of this court, allegedly for procedural reasons).

While the EU talks about equality, domestic leaders persistently defend 'constituentness' as sacred. And in modern Europe, the 'constituentness' of peoples cannot be above the equality of citizens. The equality of citizens is the boundary between 'ethnic' democracy and European civilization.

The Commission warns that electoral integrity in BiH 'must be improved'. Behind this diplomatic formulation lies the message that elections in BiH are not fair enough. From false voters, non-transparent party financing, falsification of election results, to political pressure on the CEC, all this creates an image of a system where parties control institutions, and not the other way around.

The European Commission precisely diagnoses the weakness of the state parliament, which is more of a bystander than the engine of political life. The abuse of available veto mechanisms has practically halted the adoption of laws, while parliamentary oversight of the executive branch is symbolic.

The Report states: 'Parliament can only exercise its competences partially effectively. Legislative activity has decreased. Oversight of the executive branch has also remained weak'. This is actually a description of a political system in which institutions are sought to be turned into backdrops, and decisions are made in a narrow circle of party leaders, usually outside state institutions. The aim is to strip parliament of power, and citizens of trust in the competence and efficiency of institutions.

Particularly important is the EC's message to the authorities in the RS entity. The European Commission explicitly states that 'the National Assembly of the RS adopted laws contrary to the legal and constitutional order, which were subsequently annulled by the Constitutional Court of BiH' (and after that, under international pressure, these laws were also suspended by the National Assembly itself). This part of the report is not a mere statement, but a political warning that any activity that undermines the constitutional order of BiH is not only moving the country away from the European Union but also a threat to stability. Since the EU is fundamentally a peace project, the European path and secessionism cannot be in the same sentence.

When the recommendations from the Report are compared with the actual situation in BiH, it is formally stated that the Constitution is discriminatory, that the electoral process is subject to manipulation, that parliamentary oversight of the executive branch is weak, and that entity institutions openly violate the state Constitution. Bosnia and Herzegovina still functions more according to the rules of stabilocracy than according to the standards of European democratic societies.

The European Commission is not asking Bosnia and Herzegovina for the impossible, it is not asking it to be perfect, but to be a normal country. That laws are respected. That elections are fair. That parliament has power. That no one is above the Constitution. That all people have equal rights. In this regard, they must also actively help us with constitutional reforms.

On the other hand, as long as domestic political elites work to maintain the status quo, to preserve power, and not to strengthen institutions, future EC reports will be similar.

The recommendations from future reports will be a warning that with our current approach to integration, we will not deceive the Brussels administration. And our current approach can be summarized in the message: we want membership, but not the rules by which Europe lives.