Čović: The government must work much faster and more dynamically in the coming month

"It seems to me that the initial momentum waned a couple of times in some short crises. I hope it will not affect those decisions we promised to make by the holidays. I can even be very satisfied when it comes to the BiH Council of Ministers, but the important laws are going to be discussed in the coming period, and when I talk to the representatives of the international community and colleagues from the parliamentary majority with whom we agreed on those laws, it seems to me that it's not too late, but we only have one month left," Čović said in an interview with FENA. 

He points out that by the end of July, they should have four or five key laws forwarded in the parliamentary procedure. 

He said that situation is somewhat different in the Federation of BiH because we have had a new government for a month and a half. Čović thinks that we have high-quality ministers and that there is no additional political burden for the work of that government.

"I now expect the Government to start working in full capacity, above all on economic reforms. The budget will be revised, and energy laws are on the agenda, but what worries me is that we are unable to create the possibility for the Parliament, and especially the House of Representatives, to hold sessions normally. That majority is quite narrow and I would like us not to get into any kind of crisis, and frankly, there is no reason for that. We must free ourselves from the burden of various political spins and start reforms. We can get a very positive result from everything, but we have to work much faster and more dynamically in the next month," says Čović for FENA.  

Commenting on the problems regarding the functioning of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the announcement from Republika Srpska about a possible boycott of the work of state institutions, Čović says that every crisis, big or small, is a problem for such vulnerable relations in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"This is especially a problem for the parliamentary majority. We should do everything to avoid these crises. It is difficult for me to talk about the RS when we in the Federation of BiH are not able to appoint a judge for whom we agreed four months ago. That's a real point, why don't we finish what we can, and then we'll address other problems. But in any case, everyone in politics should make their contribution to avoid even the smallest crises because it is enough to say two words wrongly at some point in time and then they are transferred to much more serious matters. I hope that there will not be such a halt as we have had in the last ten years several times, such as announcing the boycott of institutions. We have just built them, given them our trust, and it would be a bad message for all of us who are in power today," says Čović.

He believes that the partners in the Federation of BiH should show that they can work well, and then motivate the other entity, their representatives, to take a step forward together and remove the obstacles we have today when it comes to the Constitutional Court, but not only the Constitutional Court. Čović said that there is a lot more that can threaten the normal functioning of the government.

Speaking about a possible alternative to the current government, Čović said that it could only be the government that we had until two months ago, and that would be a backward path intertwined with various blackmails and blockades.

When it comes to forming the government in Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, Čović says that it is demanding to find 20 votes in the parliament in this kind of relationship.

Regarding the electoral reform, Čović points out that after the appointment of the three-member working group, there is no progress, although the deadlines that have been set are running out.

Čović welcomed the decisions of the joint session of the Council of Ministers of BiH and the Government of the Republic of Croatia in Zagreb, expressing the hope that soon the Council of Ministers of BiH will hold a joint session with the Government of the Republic of Serbia.

When it comes to relations with other regional or world powers, Čović says that BiH, no matter how small it is, represents an important geostrategic space and those relations should be maintained while keeping in mind the context of geopolitical distributions that are recognized today.

"China today and China 20 years ago are not the same. Today it is a technological, economic and security reality. And it must be discussed at those levels, and not only BiH. The aggression against Ukraine left a scar on all of us in Europe. We must have a clear foreign policy, and that is why I am glad that there has been a change in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We must adopt key documents. Then it will be easier for us to get something from everyone, both from Turkey as a partner, but also from the entire Islamic world and everyone else. Prime Minister Viktor Orban expressed his willingness to strengthen economic relations between Hungary and Bosnia and Herzegovina. These days they made a strategic agreement with Serbia. My question is why we don't insist on using that potential as well. We want to work strategically on cooperation with Israel, being aware of the challenges that this can bring due to the relations in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Islamic world towards Bosnia and Herzegovina. We are already working with them on several strategic projects and we are going to learn from Israel how a small nation can impose itself in economic and technological solutions. However, it should be clear that the West, Brussels has no alternative when it comes to our integration capacity," Čović said.

As the main challenge in the future period in BiH, Čović cites the final acceptance of the equality of the constituent peoples and their legitimate representation in the institutions.

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