On Thursday, 10 February, the spokesperson for the European External Action Service denounced the vote by the Republika Srpska National Assembly, which took place earlier that day, in favour of a law establishing a separate High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) in the Republika Srpska.
This “constitutes an unacceptable violation of the constitutional and legal order of Bosnia and Herzegovina”, he warned in a statement. According to the spokesperson, if adopted, this law will be severely detrimental to the rights of citizens of the Republika Srpska, increase legal uncertainty and instability in the country’s judicial system, and seriously compromise Bosnia and Herzegovina’s European perspective.
The bill was passed by 45 votes out of 63 in the 83-seat parliament. It will now be submitted to experts and legal institutions for an opinion for 90 days before it is adopted. This bill is not the first separatist act by the Assembly, which has already passed a non-binding motion in favour of withdrawing the armed forces and the judicial and tax systems of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the region.
On behalf of the EU, the EEAS spokesperson once again called upon Bosnian leaders, particularly those from the Republika Srpska, “to put an end to escalatory steps and instead ensure serious dialogue is resumed within State institutions to address all the issues of concerns”.
According to him, the EU is ready to use all the instruments at its disposal to help Bosnia and Herzegovina overcome the current crisis and ensure that the country turns its full attention back to the reforms necessary for its path towards the EU.
The situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina will be discussed by EU foreign ministers during their council meeting on 21 February. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)