Some Names of Candidates for Chief Negotiator with the EU Known

(Patria) - The deadline for the election of the negotiation team of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the European Union (EU) in the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliament expires today.

No one is officially announcing the names, but BHRT learns that SDS is lobbying for it to be Mirko Šarović, while PDP has several candidates in consideration.

The candidate for chief negotiator for the EU on behalf of SDP is Lejla Ramić-Mesihović, while Our Party plans to nominate Lejla Hasanović.

The Trojka (Three parties coalition) does not want a negotiator from SNSD, while this party and HDZ BiH state that the Council of Ministers of BiH will decide on everything.

Negotiations, MPs say, can last until morning, and if we are to believe our politicians based on their past work, we might wait a long time for that morning.

Consultations on the names of candidates for the chief negotiator of BiH with the EU, between parts of the caucuses in the BiH Parliament can last until midnight. Official candidate names are expected in the morning.

SDP MP in the BiH Parliament Saša Magazinović stated earlier today that there are several names in consideration and that it is unserious to speculate with names that may not be proposed.

The House of Representatives of the BiH Parliament previously adopted a decision that the negotiation team will be elected in this house. The decision was supported by the Trojka parties, the opposition from RS, and NES MPs.

Magazinović claims the goal was to bypass blockades.

- We have no problem saying why this model was proposed. It is so that SNSD cannot propose the candidate in the Council of Ministers. If a name is proposed, SNSD will propose it in the Presidency as well.

In this case, the Parliamentary Assembly is the only place where SNSD does not dictate political processes - said Magazinović.

MPs from SNSD and HDZ BiH are against the election of the negotiator in the House of Representatives of the state Parliament. For SNSD, such an election is unconstitutional, while HDZ BiH emphasizes that the election of the negotiator is exclusively within the competence of the Council of Ministers of BiH.

- This model opens a "Pandora's box" for the House of Representatives to take over the competencies of the BiH Parliament, which is unconstitutional and dangerous for BiH, so we will have a dual view on the appointment of the negotiator. We insist that this is the job of the Council of Ministers - says HDZ BiH MP Predrag Kožul.

The opposition SDA reminds that they supported the decision to elect the negotiator in the House of Representatives, but with the condition that the constitutionality of this method of election be checked.

- When it comes to the agenda, we will decide whether to support the name of the negotiator and his two deputies - said SDA MP in the BiH Parliament Šerif Špago.

The Chairman of the BiH Presidency Željko Komšić claims that the name of the negotiator is proposed by the Council of Ministers of BiH, and according to the Constitution, it is elected by the BiH Presidency.

The message from the European Union is clear - the election of the negotiator is a prerequisite for the start of negotiations. Now everything is up to domestic political leaders.

- Without political will, there are no concrete results, and without concrete results, there is no progress in the process - said the Director of the Directorate for European Integrations Elvira Habota.

The political attempt to elect a negotiation team has already failed once in the Council of Ministers of BiH. Tomorrow we will see if the agreement will also fail in the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliament.