Covic: Bosnia and Herzegovina's EU path not lost, talks to be held with partners

"The European path is by no means lost. We will do everything on our part to practically show that we are capable of adopting two European laws, appointing a negotiator, and adopting the Growth Plan, which has essentially already been agreed upon," said Covic when asked whether the crisis and blockades in the country would continue until the 2026 elections.

He added that the opening of negotiations with the EU and the harmonisation of the Reform Agenda, which is crucial for obtaining financial resources from the Growth Plan, are being blocked "due to political whims and other unresolved political issues".

Since the first-instance verdict against Republika Srpska leader Dodik in February this year, all state processes in BiH have been stalled, including the country's European perspective and the fulfilment of conditions for receiving EU financial support.

For BiH to formally begin negotiations with the EU, the authorities must adopt two laws - on the BiH Court and on the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council, as well as appoint the chief negotiator.

Last week, the session of the BiH Council of Ministers, which was supposed to discuss the list of reforms for using money from the Growth Plan, was not held shortly after the Slovenian government imposed sanctions on Milorad Dodik.

Additionally, pro-Bosnian political parties insist on excluding Dodik’s SNSD party from the Council of Ministers. However, this cannot happen because the party can block the dismissal procedure in the upper, ethnically-based House of Peoples of the BiH Parliament.

Covic confirmed that he had already spoken with the leadership of two Bosniak-civic parties, the SDP BiH and the People and Justice Party, and announced talks with other Bosniak and Serb parties in order to reach an agreement on unblocking the European path. He added that alongside this, they are also insisting on amendments to the Election Law to end the practice of "outvoting" Croats.

"This is a package I was deeply convinced we could complete with this dynamic. Now we will try to achieve the same by the end of the year," said Covic.