Meeting with the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of BiH and the Deputy Chairperson of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH

The President of the Republic of Srpska Milorad Dodik met today in Banja Luka with the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Borjana Krišto and the Deputy Chairperson of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina Dragan Čović.

After the meeting, the President of the Republic of Srpska said that in Bosnia and Herzegovina it is necessary to resolve issues on which there is agreement because everyone agrees on its European path, but there are different opinions on membership in NATO.

“We need to discuss the European path and the 14 priorities and see how to reach a consensus. However, it should be emphasized that Bosnia and Herzegovina is a negotiating party on the way to the EU, and not a subject, as Johann Sattler (Head of the EU Delegation in Bosnia and Herzegovina) believes”, said the President Dodik.

The President of the Republic pointed out that he wanted to achieve harmony on the BiH budget and that development issues were discussed at the meeting.

“The talks are never directed against the third party and we want the Government of the Federation of BiH to be formed as soon as possible, as well as the quality work of the Council of Ministers”, said the President Dodik.

“I want to express my satisfaction with what has been performed so far in terms of decision-making in the Council of Ministers. What we have agreed so far has been implemented through the decisions of the Council of Ministers and this should be continued”, said the President Dodik and added that cadre solutions were also discussed, and pointed out that the process of electing the new leadership of the Intelligence-Security Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina will soon be completed.

The President of the Republic said that the initiative to hold meetings of the Council of Ministers with governments in the region has been supported.

“We also think that the practice of the Council of Ministers holding meetings with entity governments should be introduced”, added the President Dodik.

The President of the Republic said that he believes that the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be formed as soon as possible and that the Government of the Republic of Srpska will harmonise certain policies and projects with the new structure.

“That should give new content to our overall relations, and I believe there is no reason for blockades. If a bank from Germany or some other bank blocks funds for the Republic of Srpska, we are not ready to support the projects of that bank in the Federation. This will remain the policy in the future until that issue is resolved”, said the President Dodik and added that in most cases, when talking about projects, we are talking about loans and not donations, and that there are other partners who finance projects on favorable terms.

The meeting in the Palace of the Republic was also attended by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Srpska Radovan Višković, Speaker of the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly Nikola Špirić and Minister of Finance in the Council of Ministers Zoran Tegeltija.