The start of negotiation between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Union must be linked to the declaration of Republika Srpska entity president Milorad Dodik on loyalty to the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, High Representative Christian Schmidt told German media.

“Everyone wants the negotiations and Dodik recently stressed so. And that means, if the EU sets conditions, then they must be met – first of all the topics such as the functionality of the Constitutional Court,” Schmidt said in an interview with German Tageszeitung.

Asked if Dodik's secession threats should still be taken for serious, he replied that this is probably “the hardest question, because one can be either right or wrong.”

Schmidt added that he sees Dodik still “preparing autonomy when it comes to legal composition and the electoral law,” and that it all culminates with an attack on state institutions, the Constitutional Court and even the Office of the High Representative.

As for the start of the country's accession talks with the EU, Schmidt stressed that there are conditions that are not negotiable. “This includes the Constitutional Court, the functionality of the state, foreign policy but also the acceptance of existing laws and regulations.”

“I am telling them to leave the Constitutional Court alone, there is no room for action there, the laws must be implemented. The issue of legal state, cooperation with Europe are on the top of the list,” he said.

Dodik swiftly reacted to Schmidt's interview, saying that the German diplomat's idea about the declaration of loyalty is a “strong compromising of the state of Germany and its values.”

“I cannot believe that Germany could stand anymore the deterioration of its reputation due to the fact that one German doesn't know what to do with himself,” said Dodik.

The Bosnian Serb leader is firm in his position that Christian Schmidt is “illegal” because his appointment was not confirmed by the UN Security Council.

Schmidt was appointed on August 1, 2021 by the Peace Implementation Council. Since that date, Schmidt submitted several biannual reports on the situation in the country to the UN Security Council. The Office of the High Representative clarifies that based on Annex 10 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in BiH, the appointment of the High Representative is not done by the UN Security Council, although it must be in line with adequate resolutions.