DODIK: EU PATH MUST BE UNDER CONDITIONS ACCEPTABLE TO SRPSKA

BANJA LUKA, MARCH 20 /SRNA/ – SNSD leader Milorad Dodik states there is a political commitment to continue the European path, but it must be under conditions acceptable to Republika Srpska.

"We are moving in that direction, but with many negative experiences showing that each of these projects leads to further centralization and unitarization of BiH. We are cautious about that, but our main strategic goal remains eventual EU membership," Dodik told the press in Banja Luka after a meeting with Montenegrin Parliament Speaker, Andrija Mandić. Dodik emphasized that the path to the EU must be under conditions acceptable to Republika Srpska, not humiliating ones, as has been the case so far. "Europe has serious problems; it is increasingly turning into a mythical concept. It is not at all clear how the accession of new countries to the EU will occur. Will it be a Europe with one or two speeds, in which full subservience must be shown by a significant number of other member states?" Dodik said. He stressed the need for additional caution to ensure that national, people's, and sovereignty interests are not subordinated, in order to be mere observers and executors of various orders in the EU. Dodik noted that he keeps striving for good relations with Montenegro. "In the past, Montenegro did not show a particularly good relationship with Republika Srpska. Milo Đukanović's government ignored the fact that Republika Srpska is an essential factor in the Dayton Peace Agreement. They relied more on contacts with Sarajevo, neglecting Srpska. Today, things are somewhat better thanks to Mandić, who understands reality," Dodik said. The SNSD leader also stressed that he would like to continue inter-party cooperation with Mandić. "Mandić's party and SNSD are proven patriotic forces that, under impossible circumstances, prioritized national and people’s interests in their political work. Mandić went through various torments in Montenegro because of that. I have gone through them too, and continue to do so, because I persistently defend our national identity," Dodik said.