Session of the BiH Council of Ministers on 9 November: Is there a political agreement on three laws and FRONTEX?

(Patria) - A session of the BiH Council of Ministers has been scheduled for 9 November, and the agenda will be published later. Although the Law on Courts was on the agenda of the past several sessions, it was removed because there was no political agreement on where the Appellate Division of the BiH Court would be located. SNSD leader Milorad Dodik, who is being tried before the BiH Court for failing to implement the High Representative's decisions, insists that the Appellate Division be in Banja Luka.

The parties of the troika propose that it be in East Sarajevo due to costs and the transfer of defendants, and the EU Delegation also supported that idea. However, this week Dodik made a new proposal that the Appellate Division be in Bosanski Novi, but that proposal has not been officially considered.

When European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited BiH on Wednesday, she expressed regret that the Law on Courts and the Law on Conflict of Interest Prevention have not yet been adopted.

However, these are not the only obligations facing BiH. The BiH Council of Ministers should also adopt the Law on Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorist Activities, as well as the agreement with FRONTEX.

Chairwoman of the BiH Council of Ministers Borjana Krišto then said they were close to an agreement on the reform laws and the agreement with FRONTEX.

“As for the Law on Conflict of Interest Prevention, the Law on Courts, the Law on Prevention of Money Laundering, and the FRONTEX agreement, they are almost finished. It took us a session or two to get there. Specifically, regarding the decision on FRONTEX and the law on money laundering prevention, we have not yet obtained an opinion; the working group proposals are completed and we expect them to be done very soon. Our obligation is to work diligently on reforms,” Krišto said, but she did not want to specify when the BiH Council of Ministers could adopt these laws and the agreement.

Although the session is scheduled for 9 November, if there is no political agreement among the parties that make up the government at the state level, these laws will not be adopted.

The session of the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly could be held around 20 November, announced the Chairman of the House Marinko Čavara (HDZ BiH) at this week's session.
BiH can only receive the new financial assistance package from the European Union if it implements reforms, Von der Leyen clearly emphasized. Whether BiH will receive money for projects depends solely on the state authorities.