Today, a meeting was held in Mostar between leaders of the parties forming the state-level coalition, with SDP leader Nermin Niksic and HDZ BiH leader Dragan Covic, as well as SNSD's Radovan Viskovic, addressing the media afterward.

Although no concrete agreement was reached on the laws necessary for the country's path towards the European Union, nor on the Growth Plan, Niksic stated that the period until the end of the year is one they want to use to show progress towards the European Union, which could qualify the country for opening negotiations with the Union.

Niksic affirmed that the “atmosphere of negotiation and dialogue” has returned, and that it is important to maintain this momentum “even when we don't agree on everything.”

“The period ahead of us until the end of the year is a time when we want to demonstrate to the EU that we are making progress that would qualify us to open negotiations, qualifying us in a way that as the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina at all levels, we strive to meet the conditions and be a credible partner,” Niksic said.

He referred to the explanation given by HDZ BiH leader Dragan Covic, who announced an urgent session of the Council of Ministers of BiH, which should address, among other things, the Law on Personal Data Protection.

“The fact, as Dragan mentioned, is that beyond the laws we specified and agreed upon that should go through the Council of Ministers, there are additional difficulties in the working groups, which has proven to be the correct path, with procedures in the Council of Ministers and Parliament. It is very important to Viskovic (the Prime Minister of RS) and me, as entity prime ministers, that the framework budget for state institutions for next year and the next three years is adopted so that we can count on what are the obligations and possibilities of the entity budgets,” said Niksic.

He emphasized that the leaders continue in the same atmosphere where every success and step forward “further motivates us to discuss, negotiate, and solve even more issues in the period ahead.”

HDZ leader Dragan Covic stated that eight points were discussed. No agreement was reached on the Growth Plan.

“The first point was the Law on Personal Data Protection, which is the second law we needed to agree upon. The agreement is that by Wednesday we define these nuances so that by the end of the week the Council of Ministers can have an urgent session, and for the next week, the House of Representatives and the House of Peoples, to resolve these two laws as a package. The second point is the Growth Plan, where there are still open questions, and it was agreed that the chairperson will convene the working team and conclude precisely what remains to be negotiated,” Covic said.

He mentioned that today they agreed on the appointment of the chief negotiator for the EU and two deputies, as well as the Integration Program. The name of the chief negotiator for Bosnia and Herzegovina with the EU was agreed upon earlier.

“We could not agree today on the appointment of the IPA coordinator. Regarding the budget for BiH institutions, we agreed that the Minister of Finance of BiH will prepare the basis for an agreement so that this can be discussed. The seventh point was the Work Program for the Council of Ministers institutions, where it was agreed that all institutions will submit their work programs to the chairperson. There were also current issues discussed, including decisions imposed by the OHR and other matters,” Covic said.

He noted that they had a constructive atmosphere, but there is still a lot of work to do concerning Bosnia and Herzegovina's path to the European Union.

Covic called on those who “swear that this is their country to show it in a practical way and adopt the Growth Plan.” He concluded by saying that he believes this year cannot yet be considered “a failure.”

Radovan Viskovic, the Prime Minister of Republika Srpska and a representative of the state coalition (SNSD) that met today in Mostar, provided details about the agenda items discussed, noting which were resolved fully, partially, or not at all.

Despite expectations, no agreement was reached regarding the Reform Agenda, whose deadline for agreement is approaching on December 4. The meeting also did not result in consensus on laws related to Bosnia and Herzegovina's EU path or the Growth Plan.

Viskovic mentioned, “Whenever the current coalition government shows willingness to tackle open issues related to EU integration, someone steps in to disrupt it. I believe this practice is even designed to work against Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

He then spoke about SNSD’s proposed law: “We suggested a law stating that once Bosnia and Herzegovina obtains EU negotiation status, no external entity should impose legal solutions beyond the constitutional institutions. Unfortunately, this was not accepted by the Troika parties, though HDZ had no objections.”

Viskovic also mentioned the nearly resolved Law on Personal Data Protection, stating, “The law is 95-98% agreed upon. Only two or three articles need further consultations, and it should soon reach the Council of Ministers for approval.”

The Growth Plan was another topic discussed, with Višković expressing concerns over new demands, such as terminating visa-free regimes with certain countries. He noted, “This issue will remain political, and we will address it once there is a political consensus.”

Regarding EU negotiations, Viskovic said that the main negotiator's appointment was discussed: “Everyone agreed, except for a minor issue about ensuring the roles are distributed across different constituent groups.”

Viskovic concluded by addressing budget matters, mentioning that the Minister of Finance would prepare the necessary groundwork given significant expected revenue from the Central Bank, of which 60% will go to the common institutions’ budget. There was also mention of the work programs for BiH institutions, with some institutions yet to submit their reports.