According to Milorad Dodik, the fact that Bosnia became a candidate for EU membership is only Brussels's belated reaction to granting Ukraine candidate status during the past year, while leaving the Balkan country off the list. At the same time, the Serbian politician has upheld his position of continuing to maintain good relations with Moscow.

Millstones of accession turn slowly in the Balkans

The leaders of the European Union recently decided that Bosnia-Herzegovina should become an EU candidate country. The President of the European Council wrote on Twitter:

„A strong signal to the people, but also a clear expectation for the new authorities to deliver on reforms. The future of the Western Balkans is in the EU,”

Charles Michel concluded his post.

Bosnia and Herzegovina was granted the status of candidate country today.

A strong signal to the people, but also a clear expectation for the new authorities to deliver on reforms.

The future of the Western Balkans is in the #EU

Congratulations!#EUCO pic.twitter.com/1TUWlGlNPu

— Charles Michel (@CharlesMichel) December 15, 2022

The decision was not met with outbursts of joy in the Republika Srpska. Milorad Dodik, the head of the entity, emphasized that years ago, upon hearing such news, he would have been optimistic, but now, as he put it, it practically makes no difference.

Photo: Twitter

„It is time for the EU and us in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the entities to conclude this process together and as partners to our mutual satisfaction,”

Dodik said.

The Serbian politician underlined that since the „great” promise of EU membership in Thessaloniki, twenty years have passed with lies and empty promises. The politician was referring to the 2003 decision of the European Council , which stated that all the countries of the stabilisation and association process are potential candidate countries for EU membership. Moreover, the Western Balkans strategy of the European Commission in February 2018, as well as the statements made after successive EU-Western Balkans summits, confirmed this determination. They offered a European perspective to the Western Balkans, but concrete, rapid steps did not follow.

Of the seven countries, only Croatia joined the European Union in 2013. Zagreb will already be part of the Schengen area next year. Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania have become candidate countries, of which the first two stand the closest to integration, but even these states have not been given a target date for when they can expect full membership. Bosnia-Herzegovina became a candidate for membership in December, while Kosovo submitted its official application for accession in the past few days.

Reforms require money

Milorad Dodik welcomed Brussels’ current decision to grant candidate status to Bosnia-Herzegovina. He also noted that he will recommend to all local political actors that they request a total of 20 billion euros in financial support from Brussels by 2027.

Вријеме је да Европска унија и ми у БиХ и ентитетима, заједно и као партнери, на обострано задовољство финализирамо овај процес.С тим циљем предложићу свим политичким актерима у БиХ и ентитетима да од ЕУ до 2027. године затражимо финансијску подршку у износу од 20 милијарди евра.

— Милорад Додик (@MiloradDodik) December 15, 2022

Receiving these funds would allow them to align their laws and institutions to EU standards by 2027, respecting the constitution and the Dayton Agreement that put an end to the wars in the 1990s, the president of Republika Srpska underlined. Everything else is just a colourful lie, Mr Dodik wrote on Twitter.

Republika Srpska to retain good relationship with Moscow

Speaking about the decision, the president of Republika Srpska told the Serbian-language website of the Sputnik news agency in an interview that the decision was a political one that has nothing to do with „criteria” or „European values”.

He added that granting EU candidate status to Ukraine in the summer generated embarrassment regarding the failure to award the same status to Bosnia and Herzegovina. In his view, Brussels’ feeling of guilt was the reason underlying the current decision, but this is not the sole reason for Bosnia becoming a candidate, with the West’s political decision being the most likely reason.

„They’re trying to win the entire Balkans over to their side, but it doesn’t make any difference. We will continue to maintain our good relations with the Federation of Russia, and of course with all other countries, as well as with the EU. We’ll see how they react to this,

Mr Dodik told Sputnik.

He revealed that he has given much thought to the question of integration recently, whether the process is worthwhile for them at all, noting, however, that it is an essential part of the path to EU membership. This is because Brussels has created a kind of invasive system for countries that are engaged in the accession process.

„They are seeking to gain consent to decisions through a system based on punishments. How long can this go on, how long can people tolerate it, will Europe hold out? A friend of mine, whom I respect a lot, and who has been active in politics for a long time, says that by the time we get to the EU, it will fall apart. So this is also one of the scenarios, we’ll see what happens,”

the president of Republika Srpska said.