FBiH BiH House of Peoples To Unblock EU Road?

The OHR today called on delegates to  the FBiH House of Peoples, at their session tomorrow, to adopt the Law on RT FBiH in a version that is fully harmonised with the BiH PBS System Law in the form proposed by the FBiH Government. If this is not done, the delegates will be responsible for blocking BiH’s road to Europe, the OHR warned.

“Last month the FBiH House of Representatives adopted amendments that are not harmonised with the BiH PBS System Law or with the FBiH Government’s proposal. Those amendments undermine the editorial independence and financial viability of the PBS in BiH,” the Senior Deputy High Representative, Peter Bas-Backer, said today.

Last week, the EU’s Enlargement Commissioner, Olli Rehn, emphasised that “to complete the SAA negotiations…the FBiH must ensure that its legislation is completely in line with the State Law on the Public RTV system adopted at the end of last year.”

“The message could not be clearer”, Bas-Backer said. “By opening the road to a harmonisation process which would result in the FBiH Parliament adopting legislation harmonised with that of the State, the FBiH House of Peoples can ensure that BiH’s progress towards an SAA Agreement is not stalled. If they do not, the FBiH House of Peoples would put at risk the PBS reform itself, and the fulfilment of a pivotal requirement for BiH progress in the SAA process.”

Senior Deputy High Representative Bas-Backer will address the FBiH House of Peoples Collegia at their meeting tomorrow. 

The FBiH authorities are already three months late in fulfilling this harmonization requirement.