House of Representatives Adopts Decision on Formation of Office of Chief Negotiator of BiH with EU

(Patria) - The House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH adopted at its 33rd urgent session this evening the Proposal for a Decision on the formation of the Office and the procedure for appointing the Chief Negotiator and Deputy Chief Negotiator of BiH for leading the negotiations on accession to the EU.

Out of 29 representatives present, 24 supported this decision – proposed by representatives Saša Magazinović, Mira Pekić, Nihad Omerović, Sabina Ćudić, and Jasmin Emrić – while five were against.

Also, a conclusion by Saša Magazinović was adopted, by which the House of Representatives calls on the caucuses of representatives to submit proposals for the Chief Negotiator and Deputy Chief Negotiators by November 10.

During the discussion, representative Milan Dunović (DF) stated that two parallel processes are underway, both of which are unconstitutional. He stated that the first process took place at today's session of the Council of Ministers of BiH.

- We saw in the media that the Office for Legislation of the Council of Ministers, in its opinion submitted to the Council of Ministers, stated that the Presidency of BiH cannot be excluded from the appointment process of the Chief Negotiator, as this is defined by the Constitution of BiH – Dunović points out.

According to him, the proposal that the representatives discussed goes in a different direction – in his opinion, the House of Representatives appoints the Chief Negotiator.

- However, the common denominator is again that the Constitution of BiH is completely ignored and the Presidency of BiH is bypassed – Dunović noted.

Predrag Kojović from Our Party pointed out that this is not about a representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but about an "auxiliary body of the Council of Ministers of BiH".

- As in this decision, in its actions, it is also accountable to the Presidency of BiH – Kojović added.

One of the proposers, Saša Magazinović, emphasized that there are three different stances on who should elect the Chief Negotiator – the Council of Ministers, the House of Representatives, and the Presidency.

- Whether something is constitutional or not can only be determined by the Constitutional Court. Whoever considers something unconstitutional, I invite them to approach the Constitutional Court, and we will all respect that decision – Magazinović stated.

And the political part of the story, he adds, is that – if the Council of Ministers elects the Chief Negotiator, the Chief Negotiator will be from SNSD, because that decision cannot be made without two ministers from SNSD.

- If the Presidency elects the Chief Negotiator, he will be from SNSD, because Željka Cvijanović sits there. The only place where the Chief Negotiator can be elected, and not be a representative of SNSD, is the House of Representatives – Magazinović underlined.

Šerif Špago from SDA said in his discussion that the representatives of that party will support the proposed decision, considering that the European path of BiH is completely blocked without a negotiator, which is now most important for the state of BiH and its citizens.