DODIK: NO BACKING FOR CENTRALIZATION ON EU PATH, WHETHER AS GROWTH PLAN OR ABYSS

BANJA LUKA, APRIL 21 /SRNA/ – SNSD leader Milorad Dodik has stated today that the European path is being imposed on BiH in order to carry out centralization, adding that Republika Srpska will not support it wherever it exists, whether it is called the Growth Plan or, as he described it, a path into the abyss.

"No form of centralization is acceptable and it will not happen", Dodik said in Banja Luka after a meeting with HDZ BiH representatives. He noted that Republika Srpska has not received a single convertible mark from the EU for several years, but despite that it continues to function and has no major problems. "Growth Plan funds are partly grants and largely loans. We are showing the ability to secure those loans elsewhere, so we do not need those EU loans", Dodik stated. HDZ BiH leader Dragan Čović said it would be a mistake to miss any funds BiH can obtain, especially grant funds. "But we are not organized enough to move forward with that project", Čović added, noting that all priority projects must first be adopted. Regarding BHRT, Dodik believes it should be abolished, claiming it is a Muslim television in BiH. "It should not have existed in the first place," Dodik stressed. Čović, however, expressed a different view, saying his political party supports the public broadcaster, but not in the way it is currently functioning, which he described as populism. He said a proper public service and a clear law governing it should be established.