BiH security official approved Croatian PM’s entry via unopened border crossing

Plenkovic, who led a Croatian government delegation to Banja Luka, crossed into Bosnia through the newly built but non-operational Gradiska crossing after the planned official opening ceremony was postponed.

According to FTV, the Croatian delegation was allowed to enter Bosnia and Herzegovina through the Gradiska crossing on the basis of a formal decision issued by Ivica Bosnjak, the Deputy Minister of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who is currently acting as minister. Bosnjak is a senior official affiliated with HDZ BiH, the Bosnian branch of Croatia’s ruling party.

The Gradiska border crossing has not been put into operation because the Governing Board of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Indirect Taxation Authority (ITA/UIO) has failed to adopt the Rulebook on Internal Organisation, a legal prerequisite for the crossing to function.

As a result, the official opening ceremony - originally intended to be led by Plenkovic- was cancelled, since the crossing cannot legally operate without the necessary regulatory framework in place.

One member of the ITA Governing Board, Zijad Krnjic, has repeatedly blocked adoption of the rulebook. Krnjic conditioned his support on a new agreement on the redistribution of VAT revenues between Bosnia’s two entities. He argues that the Republika Srpska currently receives a disproportionate share of VAT income and that approximately €50 million should be reallocated back to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Because of the unresolved dispute, the Gradiska crossing remains closed to the general public and is not operational for regular border traffic. Nevertheless, Prime Minister Plenkovic used the crossing during his visit and publicly acknowledged that he did so deliberately.