Rasim Belko

Bosnia and Herzegovina has lost another year on its transition path to Euro-Atlantic integration and strengthening democratic capacities. In fact, looking back 20 years, it is clear that we can now count the decades of permanently lost time, which domestic politicians have wasted at the expense of citizens.

Attempts to reform on the principle of doing nothing have borne fruit only in the segment of deepening the crisis, which, at the present moment, is more reminiscent of the pre-war situation than an attempt to achieve an internal political agreement.

Grouped in three centers of power, copied from the previous war, the political leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina occupy trenches-like positions known since the establishment of peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Neither at the domestic nor at the foreign policy level, no progress has been made that would strengthen the state, but also the standard of living of BiH citizens.

Foreign policy has been reduced to photo posing and smiling with lower-ranking officials of the international community, rarely serious visits to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and even less frequently from BiH to the world centers of power. This is far from what is necessary to meet the current principles and priorities of BiH's foreign policy, adopted in 2003. The principles have come of age, however, they remain a dead letter.

In the meantime, occupied by opposing interests of world powers, political blocs in BiH have been polarized to those pro and con of the state. Milorad Dodik, the leader of the SNSD and an anti-state member of the Presidency of BiH, has intensified activities on the separatist route of madness. On that path, he is joined by the false promoter of European values, Dragan Čović, the president of the HDZ.

United, this duo has continued to undermine the foundations of the state, or what is left of its international reputation, but also to introduce an atmosphere of fear and paranoia among citizens.

On the other hand, Bakir Izetbegović's SDA remained, joined by coalition partners on issues such as the Election Law, as well as some civic options. All this created a story about the pro-Bosnian bloc, which, thanks to Izetbegović and the SDA, is weak in the State Parliament, so its reach is limited.

However, the very fact that 25 years after Dayton, we finally have such a pro-Bosnian policy gives us hope that in the year ahead we will have a better response to anti-state action.

And this action should experience a strategic turn and rearrange the priorities of action. One of the priorities in foreign policy, according to a document adopted in 2003, is Euro-Atlantic integration. Therefore, BiH's accession to NATO and the European Union.

Priority No. 1 – NATO accession

Constant and evergrowing crises in our country are the best argument for promoting and pursuing NATO's path of Bosnia and Herzegovina to its full membership. Because, in addition to protecting its members from external attacks (and in the case of BiH such attacks are not excluded) it also helps in resolving internal crises.

For this reason, primarily the pro-Bosnian bloc, but also the political representatives of Croats who do not depend on the HDZ, should emphasize the BiH's membership in NATO as their first priority of action.

Because the reforms required for joining the NATO are far more relevant for BiH society from those relating to the European path, and that NATO path has been made difficult solely due to the false military neutrality of the RS entity, and the real bias towards Russian and Serbian interests. On the other hand, as the same RS representatives are promoting a story about the necessity of internal political dialogue and agreement, pro-Bosnian parties and all those who want a safe and peaceful, sovereign and independent Bosnia and Herzegovina should persevere in promoting the NATO's path above all else.

NATO guarantees peace, and political representatives are all about peace… in the midst of turbulent times they are creating. At the same time, joining NATO requires a more serious fight against corruption, efficient judiciary, and the experiences of the countries around us have shown that it brings a better economic position to the countries that join it.

Joining NATO would certainly enable easier continuation of reforms on the road to the European Union, because under the umbrella of the world's largest military alliance, the atmosphere would be far more relaxed, and the chances of hotheads leading to new bloodshed much less.

In addition, the option of further expansion of Russian influence in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has been increasing in recent years and is much more pervasive than that of the West, would be avoided.

Of course, there are also those European followers of the Kremlin's policy, who regularly create problems in our country, and last year they were led by Janez Janša and Viktor Orban, with Emmanuel Macron also joining them.

We must not forget the interests of neighboring countries, which have greatly contributed to the current crisis as well as the previous ones, with their policies and acts and methods of hybrid war. And those policies would be suppressed and much less carcinogenic if Bosnia and Herzegovina became a full member of NATO.

Priority No. 2 - Judiciary reform and fight against corruption

Although the international politics has imposed on us the electoral legislation as a vital issue, while they themselves are repeating the mantra of a corrupt BiH society, on the domestic level, the judiciary is the biggest cancer wound.

Crimes worth millions are being tried as if they were merely a kiosk robbery, there have been no indictments for high corruption for years, and the top echallons of justice are a well-protected species from any criticism and sanctions. While official Washington is sending legal and criminal experts as emissaries to fight corruption in Bosnia and Herzegovina, nothing has changed in that field for too long.

Citizens have become hostages of a system in which their destiny is almost openly bought and sold for the interests of a few families and groups around them. And whatever reaches the court gets prolonged, banalized and turned into a media charade till it fades away.

Therefore, all those who swear that they work in the interest of Bosnia and Herzegovina should understand that it is time for the judiciary to be reconstructed and for culture corruption to be uprooted, before it happens to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

I am primarily thinking of the SDA, whose current and former members are the main actors in most of the scandals, which are only exposed by the media. It is this SDA that is trying to be at the forefront, that should finally start the reform process if it does not want to disappear from the political scene one day, eaten away by judicial processes.

On the other hand, there are coalition partners and civic parties, which in this pro-Bosnian story should work more decisively and clearly to clean up corruption. Declarative advocacy and verbal proposals are a waste, and all parties that want to be that pro-Bosnian bloc should insist on reforming the judiciary, and even press the SDA to start pursuing such course of action of their own. Because, otherwise, no one will need a privatized state in the jaws of crime, be it whole or in three parts.

The European Union – a priority in waiting

Too often, Europeanized Brussels officials try to teach us the values ​​that we had had in this area even before the EU member states were formed.

Too little has been done in BiH regarding its European path to blame them alone. However, the fact is that we will wait for the train to Brussels for almost another decade, and the question is whether the doors will open to us.

Therefore, reforms from the European path can no longer and must not be ahead of NATO accession and judicial reform. These reforms should also be segmented so as to primarily address and reform the areas that affect the daily life of BiH citizens, and then everything else.

The European Union proved to be too uninterested in resolving major reform steps, and even what they did, they did it outside of their own principles, guided by the wishes of certain policies, and not by their own judgements.

Decisions of the European Court of Human Rights in the Zornić and Sejdić-Finci cases were kept aside by international officials, who showed that they do not care too much about conventions and human rights.

The flood of conservative, anti-Muslim and radical currents in the EU has not stopped, and that will only make it more difficult for countries like Bosnia and Herzegovina to join. This certainly does not mean that BiH should give up its European path; to the contrary, it must be followed for the sake of much-needed reforms it brings.

But, to push the European story while everything else in the country is standing still and the crises are multiplying, and the people are fleeing - is risky and destructive. Therefore, if there really are pro-Bosnian forces, a change in political discourse would have to happen and look more towards the North Atlantic Treaty Organization than towards the European Union, which has put itself in jeopardy.