KOŠARAC: "TROIKA" AVOIDING LAWFUL APPOINTMENT OF CHIEF NEGOTIAITOR

SARAJEVO, OCTOBER 30 /SRNA/ – The Deputy Chair of the Council of Ministers Staša Košarac stated that the parties of the "Troika" coalition did not want the Chief Negotiator of BiH with the EU to be appointed in a lawful manner, and were instead trying to find a solution that was not in line with the law or the Stabilization and Association Agreement.

Košarac said that the ministers from Republika Srpska were ready at today's Council of Ministers session to support the decision on the appointment of the Chief EU Negotiator in order to make progress on the European path, even though they do not believe in the EU. "We do not believe in the EU, and we are witnesses that the Union is in serious trouble, that it applies double standards, and that it is in a phase of destabilizing relations. But we were ready to expose the `Troika` coalition for what it really is — because publicly they advocate for the European path, but when it comes to action, today’s Council session showed they were not ready," Košarac emphasized. He has said that he is not personally bothered by the "Troika's" undermining of the Council of Ministers, but is concerned that they are trying to promote the House of Representatives as if it were the Parliamentary Assembly as a whole. "That is unacceptable and the appointment of the Chief Negotiator cannot be placed in the same context as the appointment of the Chair of the Council of Ministers," Košarac told reporters. Košarac pointed out that by attempting to turn the House of Representatives into the Parliamentary Assembly, the "Troika" is stripping the House of Peoples of its constitutional powers and seeking to bypass the majority will of the Serb people. He added that he does not understand how the Chief Negotiator, as envisioned by Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmedin Konaković, would cooperate with other institutions of Republika Srpska and the Federation of BiH. "They're trying to put on a Sarajevo mask and flatter voters by claiming to be strengthening BiH institutions. But they're not like that in the Council of Ministers - there, they're meek and quiet; then they come out before the media and pretend they've achieved something," Košarac stated. Today, the Council of Ministers has discussed the proposal to establish the Office of the Chief EU Negotiator of BiH with the EU, but voting on the item was postponed.