KOVAČEVIĆ: WE WERE FULLY CONSTRUCTIVE AND ADOPTED EUROPEAN LAWS, I AM NOT OPTIMISTIC THAT WE WILL KEEP PROGRESSING ON EU PATH

SARAJEVO, FEBRUARY 12 /SRNA/ – Serb deputy to the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, Radovan Kovačević, says he is not overly optimistic that BiH will keep progressing on its European path, although the current authorities at the BiH level were fully constructive and adopted European laws.

Kovačević pointed out that the majority of the adopted European laws came from ministries within the Council of Ministers headed by SNSD staff and its coalition partners, or from ministries headed by the HDZ. He stressed that none of the laws adopted on the European path, those that enabled candidate status and the decision to open accession negotiations, came from ministries headed by the Troika officials. Kovačević explained that each ministry is required to deliver laws stemming from the 14 priorities, thus the Minister of Transport and Communications in the Council of Ministers, Edin Forto, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Elmedin Konaković, must also fulfill their obligations. “On this side, there were people who worked. I am not saying that people from the Troika were not involved - they were, I am fully fair about that - but the majority or the bulk of the work nevertheless came from our line minitries,” Kovačević emphasized. He said that SNSD and its coalition partners acted in a maximally constructive manner until someone decided to engage in political games, adding that those who started playing such games are not faring particularly well. Kovačević, who is also the spokesperson of SNSD, stated that a public opinion poll conducted by the party showed that SNSD stands exactly as reflected in the results of last week’s elections, while in the Federation of BiH some Troika members will not even pass the electoral threshold and will not be part of any combination for the next mandate. Speaking about the appointment of BiH’s chief negotiator with the European Union, Kovačević confirmed that SNSD will propose no one other than Ana Trišić-Babić. “I am glad that we are moving from one success of Republika Srpska to another. I am pleased if the European Commission and the EU Delegation accept exclusively Ana Trišić-Babić. We will propose her as chief negotiator, although I am no longer certain that she is willing to take on that role at this moment,” Kovačević told Newsmax Balkan television. He has recalled that this is a position that belongs to the Republic of Srpska, which, he said, is something everyone agrees on. “That is a position that belongs to Republika Srpska and a representative of the Serb constituent people. The representatives of the majority will of the people are the SNSD structure and our coalition partners, which was additionally confirmed in last week’s elections when 70 percent of those who turned out voted for the SNSD candidate,” Kovačević stressed. He also referred to statements by Predrag Kojović, a deputy to the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, who said that Trišić-Babić is fully acceptable to him as a person and expert with an impressive biography, and that he sees no obstacle to her appointment other than a possible attempt to deny Republika Srpska its rights. “We are used to having our rights challenged, and we know how to deal with that,” Kovačević concluded.