Trojka agreed to Dodik's condition: A trap for the Presidency, because the Agreement with FRONTEX contains anti-constitutional powers for the MUP of RS

By: A. Čorbo-Zećo @aminacorbozeco

The European Union's insistence on signing an agreement between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX) will not stop. This is a condition that BiH must fulfill on its path to European integration, and for which it should initially open negotiations with Brussels on accession to the European Union.



The signing of a cooperation agreement between BiH and Frontex will enable better and more integrated border management, as well as overall movement of people and goods through the Southeast European region. That is how it should be, but the Draft Agreement hides a big trap, which relates to the fact that the Council of Ministers of BiH has given a significant role to entity police forces in the Draft.

“The EU will need to understand that the agreement must be refined with elements that respect specificities. I am primarily referring to the structure of Frontex force deployment. In order to achieve internal political compromise in BiH, it is important for us that, in addition to the Border Police, members of entity and cantonal ministries of internal affairs are included alongside Frontex officers,” stated the Minister of Security of BiH, Nenad Nešić, clearly.

And such a Draft was adopted, meaning the 'trojka' supported such requests, and then the Draft went to the BiH Presidency. Milorad Dodik, after the Council of Ministers determined the Draft, said that the Bosniaks (Trojka) nevertheless agreed that entity police forces would negotiate with Frontex.

The BiH Presidency gave the green light to open the agreement, but with a Conclusion adopted by the BiH Presidency, precisely because of the mention of entity police forces in the Draft Agreement.

The contentious part of the Agreement

Thus, in addition to the permission to initiate negotiations for the conclusion of the Agreement between BiH and the European Union on operational activities carried out by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency in BiH, the BiH Presidency demands strict adherence to the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“The negotiation delegation on behalf of BiH is instructed to strictly adhere to the constitutional and legal competencies of institutions at all levels of government in BiH when conducting negotiations on responsibilities in the development of operational plans.

Conclusion of the BiH Presidency

And the laws state that the BiH Border Police is exclusively competent for border control, and there is no option for competencies to be assigned to entity and cantonal ministries of internal affairs for tasks that are legally prescribed and assigned to the BiH Border Police.

Article 4 of the Law on Border Control states that border control is under the jurisdiction of the BiH Border Police and that border control tasks are performed by police officers of the BiH Border Police.

“In performing border control tasks, the BiH Border Police cooperates with other state bodies in BiH,” states Article 4 of the Law.

Contrary to the Law on Border Control, the Draft Agreement adopted by the Council of Ministers, at the request of RS, although not less so from HDZ, states: “The operational plan and all amendments are subject to the approval of the Agency, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the member states bordering Bosnia and Herzegovina. The obligation to obtain approval is defined in accordance with the constitutional competencies of the entities, cantons, and Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina on whose territory the activities of the Operational Plan are carried out”.

Therefore, for the BiH Border Police to implement an Operational Plan on the border with Serbia, the MUP of RS must approve that plan according to the Draft Agreement, and for the BiH Border Police to implement an OP towards Croatia, the MUPs of the cantons must give their consent. This is a derogation of state authority, i.e., unconstitutional.

Because of this, the BiH Presidency ultimately made it clear through its Conclusion that no agreement conflicting with the Constitution and laws of BiH will be able to pass, and if the proposed Draft becomes the final agreement between BiH and FRONTEX, it is expected that the BiH Presidency will not allow the ratification of the reached agreement.

Because, that act would give lower administrative units the possibility to manage state border control affairs, and that is no longer worth the European path or the agreement with FRONTEX.