TROUW (translation): When will Bosnia and Herzegovina enter the European Union? That perspective, only few months ago, was so far and that question was very hard and serious. But now, this country, fifteen months after the elections, finally has the State government and can dare to dream about progress.
New Prime minister of BiH, Vjekoslav Bevanda, keeps repeating: "Entering the EU is my biggest priority". All surveys show that the vast majority of Bosnians, regardless of ethnicity, wants the membership in the EU. But, the politicians, so far, have not finished all the needed reforms.
Bosnia is far behind the other countries in the region, regarding reforms implemented in the public sector. Croatia will be a member of the EU in 2013, Montenegro will probably start negotiations this summer, and even Serbia can hope for the candidate status. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the situation is different, the signed Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU is not yet fully respected.
But that deficiency can be compensated with a little of political effort and everything can be achieved fast. "I think that it is possible to fulfil the requirement for membership of BiH in the EU in 2012", said Renzo Daviddi, the second man of EU Delegation in BiH.
"That is the Bosnian paradox", said Srećko Latal, International Crisis Group analyst. "The country is at the door. One more step in the right direction and the situation could be improved very fast. The potential is there, only a political will is missing".
It demands an end to the practice which lasts for nearly two decades. Arguing about the population census is unreal. Bosnian Serbs wanted the census by nationality and religion, and Muslims saw that as an attempt of ethnic cleansing. Because of this kind of arguing, the Road Map for membership is held like a hostage for years. The House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH has finally passed the Law on Census, which will be take place in 2013.
The problem in Bosnia lies in the fact that all the reforms have an ethnic component. But, the pressure for implementation of reforms is growing. All processes in Bosnia and Herzegovina are fragmented and it creates difficulties. "Possibilities for status quo have to be narrowed as much as possible", said Latal. "This year, BiH will have to find the way how to move forward, or everything will go down".
If BiH has concrete goals, then the county can act quickly. When in 2010, this country got a chance to sign the Agreement on abolition of visas, BiH implemented the reforms required by the EU very fast. On that basis, everybody hopes for a similar scenario this time as well, especially now when the new State government was elected.
Brussels stays with a hand stretched out to BiH. The delegation of the EU treats Bosnia and Herzegovina as a normal and perspective state. "Readiness of the EU for BiH is clear, and probably is much bigger than for other countries", said Daviddi. However, it does not mean that postponement of painful political compromises will be tolerated. There will certainly be no giving in", said Daviddi, "even the politicians in Bosnia and Herzegovina may think so".
BiH looks like a puzzle. The Republic of Srpska and a little part of the country on the northeast have a big autonomy. The rest of the country is divided in 10 cantons, each with its government. The election of top officials of the governments is always nationally based, even though the European Court of Human Rights forbade that. The solution for this problem is not yet in sight.
"The need for the reform is huge, but that job cannot be done in one day", said Semiha Borovac, the coordinator in the Public Administration Reform Coordinator’s Office of BiH. The former mayor of Sarajevo leads this office since 2010. Through her work, she tries to simplify the processes in the public administration and put them in order. "Reform of public administration is a political decision of the authorities. The Governments at all four administrative levels have committed themselves to the reform of public administration, which, in order to be possible to implement, has to have a political support".
Reform of public administration is surely one of the hardest jobs in the country, but despite that, Borovac is optimistic. "At all levels of government I see a willingness to take responsibility for accession of BiH to the EU. In the civil service, fulfillment of obligations for filling up the application for EU membership as soon as possible is taken rather seriously", said Borovac at the end.