Third time lucky: Both extraordinary and regular sessions of the BiH Council of Ministers scheduled, will ministers from RS attend?

(Patria) - Two sessions of the BiH Council of Ministers have been scheduled for Tuesday, December 17. First, an extraordinary session should be held, and upon its conclusion, a regular session will also be held.

Both sessions have many items on their agendas, and the extraordinary session will include two European laws: the Draft Law on Border Control, proposed by the BiH Ministry of Security, and the Draft Law on Personal Data Protection, proposed by the BiH Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Ministers from RS did not attend the last two scheduled sessions, citing the arrival of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti in Sarajevo as the reason.

Last week, the President of SNSD and RS, Milorad Dodik, was hospitalized and underwent surgery in Belgrade, and he returned to BiH over the weekend.

In addition to these two laws, the session includes a number of other items, agreements, reports, and decisions.

The Head of the EU Delegation to BiH, Luigi Soreca, stated that BiH has wasted time since March when it was given the green light to open negotiations with the EU.

"To open the first negotiation chapters, a series of steps need to be taken. First, the negotiation framework must be adopted, an intergovernmental conference held, and then screening conducted, which needs to be finalized before opening chapters. Unfortunately, after the green light for accession negotiations was given in March, a lot of time has been wasted," Soreca assessed.

He noted, for example, that it is unlikely that the negotiation framework will be adopted at this month's European Council, which represents the summit of EU member state leaders.

"However, it can realistically happen at the next European Council in March if Bosnia and Herzegovina does its part. It is important to emphasize that the door to EU membership is open. Rapid progress is possible, but it is up to the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina to decide whether to seize that opportunity or not," Soreca reminded.

"The EU has a framework of laws and standards that every country aspiring to EU membership must align with. That framework and common values are what hold together a diverse Union of 27 states. On its European path, Bosnia and Herzegovina must prove that it is ready to undertake the obligations arising from EU membership," he stated.

The authorities in BiH also face the adoption of the law on courts and the new law on the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC). The appointment of a chief negotiator and a negotiation team that will represent Bosnia and Herzegovina and speak with one voice on behalf of the country is also a priority.

The parties forming the government have reached an agreement that the chief negotiator will be from RS, but they have not yet determined the negotiator's name.

Furthermore, BiH has not yet harmonized and adopted the Growth Plan, which is to be submitted to Brussels.