DODIK: WE ARE NOT AGAINST EU, BUT WE ARE AGAINST IMPOSITION OF CENTRALISATION

BANJA LUKA, APRIL 13 /SRNA/ – SNSD Leader Milorad Dodik says the EU has misused the narrative of BiH's European integration and imposed centralization, which Republika Srpska has rejected in the past and will keep rejecting in the future.

"We are for dialogue, but the EU, with its ambassador /Luigi/ Soreca here, is deceptive, because it says it is democracy when a foreigner comes here and imposes a law beyond the constitution and any European practice. Then we have no reason to trust much," Dodik told the press in Banja Luka. Dodik pointed out that the EU has blocked many financial support packages for Republika Srpska. "They charge for everything, which is also visible in the situation with /former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor/ Orbán. They still owe more than EUR 25 billion in unpaid funds to Hungary, in which way they influenced the elections themselves," he said. He says that the new Hungarian authorities will likely now seek all concessions in order to again give Hungary what it is owed. "But that is the world we recognise," Dodik said Regarding BiH's path toward the EU, Dodik emphasizes that Republika Srpska believes Europe is in crisis and has not defined its future. "Their mobilizing factor is still unification against Russia, but it is visible that the energy processes taking place affect Europe the most, and that the sanctions they imposed on Russia were more harmful to Europe than to Moscow," he said. He noted that Europe lacks leadership, that the EU has lost competitiveness, and that it will try to close itself into a smaller group of countries that impose their will on others. "In all of this, we need to talk. The narrative of accelerated European integration promoted in Sarajevo is essentially a narrative of accelerated centralisation of BiH, not of the EU," Dodik said. He stated that Republika Srpska has had no benefit from the EU in the past four to five years and is used to that. "We have found some alternatives. We were able to obtain two tankers of oil derivatives from Russia at far cheaper prices. It was not a problem for us to get it from the Russians, but it was a problem how to transport it here. If we had had that, oil prices would have been much lower than they are today," he said. Dodik added that Europe is more of a burden to Republika Srpska than a benefit. "So, we are paying the price of that unreasonable EU policy," he said. He noted that what he is saying is not popular and that some would stay silent, but he sees no reason to do so, because the EU has transformed since Ursula von der Leyen's arrival and centralized decision-making. "/Former European Commission President Jean-Claude/ Juncker coordinated, while /current President Ursula/ von der Leyen rules," he said. He stated that Republika Srpska still has much ahead in this regard. "A key leadership meeting will be held today, where we will discuss how Republika Srpska will further position itself on all these issues," he said. The SNSD leader stressed that Republika Srpska is not against the EU, but must know where its position in all of this. "Not because the EU is a blessed and desired destination, but because we are surrounded by EU member states," he said. Regarding NATO, Dodik says there are many disturbances within it, but not in the sense that the alliance will collapse, rather that relations will be redefined. "Whether Europe will endure remains a big question. We will see," Dodik concluded.