The office of the European Union in Bosnia and Herzegovina commented on the information that the Serb member of Bosnian Presidency Milorad Dodik and EU enlargement commissioner Oliver Varhelyi allegedla reached a deal during Varhelyi's visit to BiH, concerning the special session of the Bosnian Serb entity parliament on transfer of competencies from the state to entity level.

Bosnian media disclosed content of a report allegedly drafted by Head of the EU Delegation to BiH Johann Sattler on Varhelyi's visit in late November, which implied that Varhelyi agreed with Dodik on the session that took place on December 10.

The EU Delegation to BiH confirmed that Dodik informed the commissioner about his intentions to call the session but that “ this does not in any way imply assent or acceptance of these plans.”

“Indeed, Commissioner Varhelyi argued against these plans,” according to the statement.

It stressed that the commissioner's position on the withdrawal of competences announced by the Republika Srpska entity leadership was clearly articulated in statements delivered to the media during his visit to BiH

“Commissioner Varhelyi underlined that the RS leadership’s plans to dismantle State institutions would take Bosnia and Herzegovina further away from alignment with the EU acquis and would put the EU path on hold. He moreover stressed that they would have a negative impact on business and citizens. He repeated this position in a call with Mr Dodik a few days ago,” it added.

According to the statement, the EU official also urged Dodik not to take any unilateral and irreversible step towards dismantling state level institutions.

“While the conclusions adopted by the RSNA on 10 December carry no executive effect, their adoption alone is a further escalatory step on a dead end path. This view was reaffirmed in a joint Quint-EU statement issued on 10 December. The EU is fully committed to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina and rejects any proposal that would undermine the constitutional framework of BiH.”