Croatian members of the European Parliament Zeljana Zovko, Tomislav Sokol and Karlo Ressler held a press conference in Mostar on Friday where they said that sanctions against Bosnia’s Serb Presidency member Milorad Dodik were unrealistic at the EU level and that one of the myths about Bosnia is that it can become part of the EU only as a civic state.

According to Tomislav Soko, the EU has had a wrong perception about Bosnia and Herzegovina's institutions for a long time.

“[There are] those advocating the unitary story of the false BiH, that story took root within European institutions. There are many myths that are spreading there, one of the myths is that only a civic, ie unitary BiH, is a European BiH. It’s just the opposite. Representatives of the constituent peoples must agree among themselves. Nobody from the outside will want to impose something, not even Croatia. But the concept of greater subsidiarity, transfer of competencies to the local level, and of course the protection of collective political peoples is the future of BiH,” Sokol said.

Karlo Ressler stated that the current situation in the country is dangerous and that this is the beginning of a crucial year, which is why they are visiting BiH.

“The aim of the visit is to get first-hand information – what is happening in BiH, and also to explain to the members of the Croatian National Parliament the complex situation that exists in the diplomatic field. There is a demand in the European Parliament for a policy in BiH that will be civic and unitary. This is not just a single model, and we do not see that the right of the individual is in conflict with the right of the ethnic community in this case the three constituent peoples. The key message we'll convey in the European Parliament is: Either all the constitutional rights, all three peoples, including the Croats as the smallest [ethnic group], will be respected, or there will be no peaceful and stable BiH, that we all want,” Ressler stressed.

They also referred to the American sanctions against Milorad Dodik. Sokol said that the situation is clear at the EU level.

“Such a decision is always made at the level of the EU Council, with the unity of all 27 members. It is impossible to bid on whether this could happen. My assessment is that it does not seem realistic,” he said.

“I said in the European Parliament that the fundamental problems of BiH are structural. Dodik is not the main problem, the main problem is the disenfranchisement of one of the constituent peoples, the denial of fundamental European principles, and this can be solved through the Election Law,” Sokol said.