Zvizdić for Patria: No drawing of new borders in the Balkans, the European path will ultimately prevail in BiH

At the beginning of this week, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of BiH Denis Zvizdić visited Brussels, where he met with high-ranking European officials. The message that followed was positive for our country.

- We have successfully completed this phase of our European path. The three conditions we received in 2015 – the reform agenda, the SAA adaptation protocol, and the coordination mechanism – have been met. During my visit to Brussels, BiH was treated as positive news. By fulfilling these three conditions, BiH has been enabled to enter a new phase, the next step towards EU integration, which is to receive a positive opinion for the application and to receive a questionnaire from the European Commission very soon.

Once we receive it, we will have several months to answer several thousand questions, which then need to be translated into English along with the laws – Zvizdić says in an interview for the Patria news agency.

PATRIA: That's a huge job. Is BiH ready for it?

ZVIZDIĆ: We are ready to answer the questions that require very clear answers about the current situation in certain sectors. Later, during the negotiations themselves, when we adopt the EU acquis, we will harmonize most of it in terms of deadlines and uniformity. We are entering the EU and we must accept European standards. There will be no room for much deliberation. By fulfilling the conditions and accepting European standards, we become part of the EU's legal and economic space.

After candidate status, which we hope to obtain by the end of 2017 or the beginning of 2018, opportunities and doors to European funds will open. But to have access to funds, we must adopt certain documents. An example of this was the transport strategy.

PATRIA: Adopted at the last minute...

ZVIZDIĆ: Yes, but it was adopted! Now we are moving on to adopting energy, environment, and agriculture strategies. The adoption of a series of important laws follows. It is clear to everyone that unargumented obstruction of certain parts of the agricultural strategy or the establishment of binding principles, such as a single payment agency through which IPA funds for agriculture are channeled, only harms everyone. Without any reason, 30 to 40 million KM are lost annually.

PATRIA. Do we have deadlines for adopting these three strategies?

ZVIZDIĆ: There are no specific deadlines. According to our dynamics, we expect to adopt laws important for the energy strategy, and then to start drafting the energy strategy. We will harmonize the dynamics with the entities that are already working on their strategies, so that they are one step ahead, and then we will take key priorities from them. This will also be the case with the other two strategies.

PATRIA: The EU path is unblocked, but the path to NATO is blocked. Republika Srpska has halted the registration of military property, although there is a final court ruling from the BiH Court that the military facility Veliki Žep in Han Pijesak must be registered to the state. How can this political obstacle be removed now?

ZVIZDIĆ: It is important that we are working on fulfilling the conditions from Tallinn. When this convocation of the Council of Ministers started working, we found only 6 registered locations. Now we have 24, and 19 more are in the process of registration by the end of the year, four of which are in the territory of Republika Srpska. The dynamics of registration do not depend solely on politics. We very often encounter objective obstacles within the administrative procedure itself. There will be more registrations by the end of the year. The ruling related to Han Pijesak should be a template for registering other locations in the territory of Republika Srpska.

PATRIA: But Milorad Dodik's message is clear – he will not allow registration. BiH's path to NATO is blocked by this.

ZVIZDIĆ: It has become a practice for decisions of the State or Constitutional Court to be returned for review. There are no reviews of court decisions. They are not commented on, they are executed. This is a basic postulate of the rule of law in the whole of Europe. I am quite sure it will be the same with Han Pijesak. We still have rulings related to Doboj and Bijeljina. I believe that by the end of the year, we will complete the registrations in the FBiH territory, and that it will also be done in Republika Srpska very soon. In addition, the adoption of the BiH Defense Review is also a condition. The BiH Presidency has adopted guidelines, and the BiH Council of Ministers will do so in mid-November, so that at the beginning of December we will have a document on the basis of which we can talk about the modernization of the BiH Armed Forces. Of course, we must always consider the participation of our members of the BiH Armed Forces in peacekeeping missions around the world, which is more than successful, which certainly strengthens our position on the path to NATO.

The activation of the MAP is truly a matter of days, but final membership in NATO will be a matter of general consensus in BiH, as well as in the region.

PATRIA: We adopt all the necessary documents, but there is no consensus. Republika Srpska opposes BiH's entry into NATO.

ZVIZDIĆ: There is none at the moment. It is unusual that the representatives of Serbs in BiH exclusively align themselves with the stance of Serbia...

PATRIA: ...or Russia

ZVIZDIĆ: Yes. But this issue must be resolved within BiH, and that is how it will ultimately be. There is a noticeable slow increase in support among citizens throughout BiH for the NATO pact because people understand that it is a security umbrella that we desperately need.

PATRIA: You mentioned the modernization of the BiH Armed Forces. This means an increase in the budget item for the BiH Armed Forces. How will this be done?

ZVIZDIĆ: The BiH Armed Forces need to be modernized, and this will have to be done. On the other hand, we have a practice where the budget remains at the level of 750 or 950 million KM. Therefore, this cannot be changed, but we can make changes within the budget structure that will enable the successive modernization of the BiH Armed Forces. We are currently discussing modalities on how to increase funds for the army.

PATRIA: Speaking of uniforms, the salaries of soldiers, as well as police officers in state police agencies, are very low. How and when will you resolve this issue?

ZVIZDIĆ: The salaries of soldiers are not high, especially for police officers. They are not aligned with those at lower levels. We are looking for modalities to increase funds for salaries, or the salaries themselves. If and when this happens, the increase will only cover uniformed police officers who actually work in the field, not those who spend their working day in the office.

PATRIA: Let's stay with police matters for a moment. The agreement with EUROPOL has been signed, but the issue of the contact point has not been resolved – will it remain within the Directorate for Police Bodies Coordination of BiH or will it be moved to the Ministry of Security of BiH?

ZVIZDIĆ: EUROPOL will most likely remain within the Directorate for Police Bodies Coordination. The information is imprecise, there are some illogicalities, ambiguities...

PATRIA: The problem is with the address listed in the Agreement as the headquarters of the Department for Cooperation with EUROPOL...

ZVIZDIĆ: Yes. That address is completely incomprehensibly defined as Trg BiH number 1, which is the address of the Council of Ministers, state ministries, and the BiH Parliament. Our attempt to change the address would mean returning the procedure to the beginning, i.e., several more years to go through all the EU procedures we have already completed. That is why it is important that we signed the Agreement and became part of the European security system. We will regulate through internal acts that the central unit will be in the Directorate for Police Bodies Coordination, where it is now.

PATRIA: How will the IMF's money, 1.1 billion KM, be spent?

ZVIZDIĆ: Before answering this question, let me clarify. We have received the most favorable arrangement with the IMF to date. We have 46 measures that we must implement. Before the release of each tranche, a delegation will come to assess whether the conditions have been met, and only then will the money become operational. All funds go to the entities and are treated as budget support. The structure of these funds is something that the entity governments will decide on, not the Council of Ministers. The next tranche is in December or January, but before that, the entity governments must adopt certain laws.

PATRIA: When citizens read this answer of yours, they still don't understand how the money will be spent.

ZVIZDIĆ: I cannot speculate on the way the money will be spent.

PATRIA: Can it be only for administrative salaries, for patching budget holes?

ZVIZDIĆ: Only entity prime ministers or finance ministers can answer that question. The BiH Council of Ministers signs the arrangement with the IMF on behalf of the state, but we cannot order, nor create the structure for the use of funds. We do not have the jurisdiction for that. We are the least indebted country in the region...

PATRIA: ... And now it should be easier for us?

ZVIZDIĆ: Of course, because we are the least indebted. In addition, the money is for capital projects. All loans in the last 6 months are exclusively related to transport infrastructure. The intention is to complete the highway in the next 5 to 6 years.

PATRIA: You are optimistic, although we haven't built a single kilometer of highway in the last two years?

ZVIZDIĆ: Currently, about 30 kilometers are being worked on at three locations. If you look back 4-5 years, there were prepared projects and secured funds. After that, the government that completed those sections worked based on already prepared projects. We are now working in parallel. The mistake was that new projects were not prepared, nor were funds secured. The mistake was that work did not continue with the projects, regardless of who would be in power, since we have a decision to build the highway.

PATRIA: During your visit to Brussels, you discussed the referendum in Republika Srpska with high-ranking European officials. The stance is clear – the referendum was not approved.

ZVIZDIĆ: We have witnessed situations before when we had messages from Republika Srpska that they were firmly for or against, and then less than 24 hours later, the stance changed. Remember the SAA, they were against it, and after the visit of the German Minister of Agriculture, they changed their minds overnight. The same goes for the referendum. They are firmly for holding it, but who knows if it will be held. I think it was organized for pre-election purposes, and then with subsequent statements, it took on a very serious character.

There is talk of a referendum on the judiciary, then on secession... all of this can shake the Dayton Agreement, stability, and peace...

PATRIA: People are scared. Everyone is talking about jeopardizing peace. They fear war. Even you are talking about it. Will any of the politicians come out and send messages that this is about political games, about regional bargaining...

ZVIZDIĆ: At the beginning of the campaign, I sent an invitation to everyone running in the elections to talk about life issues, the economy, about a new water supply system, not about the referendum. My message is still the same. Do not raise tensions with these stories.

PATRIA: When did you last speak with your Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vučić?

ZVIZDIĆ: I have regular contact with Vučić, and it is very correct. We spoke when he recently came to Bosanska Gradiška.

PATRIA: Does he inform you about every meeting with Dodik?

ZVIZDIĆ: Not about every single one, but when we talk and see each other, we have a very correct relationship. Every time you analyze Vučić's statements, you will see that he speaks cautiously when talking about BiH.

PATRIA: How much are Serbia and Vučić fueling the atmosphere around the referendum in Republika Srpska?

ZVIZDIĆ: I think Serbia's recent move was politically very mature. Their message regarding the referendum meant non-interference in the internal affairs of BiH. Above all, that message meant that Serbia had once again chosen the European path.

PATRIA: So, wasn't the convening of a meeting in Belgrade direct interference in the internal affairs of BiH?

ZVIZDIĆ: The visit of politicians from Republika Srpska to Belgrade is based on special ties established in the Dayton Agreement. Serbia is not a guarantor of Dayton, but it is a signatory that is obliged to fulfill its obligations related to the implementation of the Agreement, which are peace and the perspective of BiH. However, I think Vučić is a wise and mature politician who will act correctly when it comes to the referendum.

PATRIA: After everything BiH has been through, do you really believe in his good and sincere intentions?

ZVIZDIĆ: Intentions are judged by deeds, and these are statements in which he refrains from anything that could harm the territorial integrity and sovereignty of BiH. It is his right to say that he loves Serbs from this side of the Drina, and that is a private matter. I do not see any concrete action by which he interferes in our internal affairs.

PATRIA: In the last month or two, it has somehow happened that we have elections in several countries in the region. Tensions are rising, the rhetoric is fierce. Will BiH again draw the shortest straw, given that we are always a pawn for bargaining?

ZVIZDIĆ: We will certainly not draw the shortest straw. The European path will ultimately prevail in BiH, economic development is already winning. We must maintain this trend so that in the coming years every citizen, worker, pensioner, and student feels improvement.

That will win in BiH. The pre-election period in the Balkans, and especially in BiH, is always filled with tensions. That is why I advocated for merging the elections for 2018 so that this executive and legislative power could work undisturbed. Unfortunately, campaigns are always based on raising national tensions, and that is the biggest problem. I believe that the temperature will drop as early as October 3rd. The architecture of the Balkans has long been completed, there are no border changes, these are just utopian ideas believed by party soldiers who spread disinformation on orders from the party. Let's give a chance to dialogue, wisdom, and normal relations.