Server: Now is the time to bring the "April Package" back into procedure!

Bosnia and Herzegovina must bring the April package of constitutional reforms back into procedure and resolve the issue of state functionality, believes Daniel Server, an American analyst and professor at John Hopkins University in Washington. Server spoke about BiH at a gathering at the Austrian Cultural Center in New York, which was also attended by former High Representative in BiH Wolfgang Petrich.

- BiH is in trouble due to the Dayton Agreement and its constitution. Dayton stopped the war, but it did not create a functional framework for governing the country and joining the EU and NATO – says Server.

He recalled that in 2005 and 2006, the US, together with the EU, launched major negotiations on constitutional changes, but the package failed in the BiH Parliament.

- If the April package had passed, it would have opened the door to a different kind of politics, one that would be less based on national identity and more on economic and social benefits for all citizens. But the package failed, and one party (Party for BiH, ed.) sacrificed it for the victory of its candidate in the next elections (Haris Silajdžić, ed.) – states Server.

In his opinion, there is no reason why the April package could not have been reconsidered and, given that there was agreement among almost everyone in BiH, adopted in the last eight years.

- The damage was done then. A period of escalating ethnic politics and separatism followed. After the defeat of the April package, the country has been blocked and has little chance of becoming an EU member before 2025. Now is the time to bring that package back into procedure – believes Server.

He says that the European integration process is not strong enough to force BiH politicians to accept constitutional reforms and create a more functional state.