KOŠARAC: THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS APPOINTS CHIEF NEGOTIATOR

TRNOVO, NOVEMBER 10 /SRNA/ – Council of Ministers Deputy Chairperson Staša Košarac said that the Council of Ministers is responsible for appointing BiH chief negotiator with the EU, while the Republika Srpska opposition and the "Troika" parties are trying, for deceitful political reasons, to use the House of Representatives for this purpose and thereby bypass the majority electoral will of the Serb people, represented by the SNSD and its coalition partners.

Košarac says the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly cannot act as the body that appoints the EU’s chief negotiator, which is clearly defined by the Constitution, the Law on the Council of Ministers, and the elements of the Stabilization and Association Agreement.

He pointed out that the PDP and SDS have not proposed anything concrete over the years regarding BiH's path toward the EU.

"Yet they have now joined forces with the `Troika` in Sarajevo to bypass the majority electoral will of the Serb people and to find themselves in a position where they are trying to ingratiate themselves with some virtual European path," Košarac said.

He emphasized that the SNSD is conducting a responsible political struggle to preserve the interests and visibility of the Republika Srpska institutions.

"We have preserved it all these years, together with the Republika Srpska Government and it will remain so in the future as long as Finance Minister Srđan Amidžić and I sit in the Council of Ministers. Sarajevo cannot dictate to us, nor can it elect for us," Košarac stated.

He reminded that there was an agreement stipulating that the chief negotiator with the EU should come from Republika Srpska, be a Serb, and come from the ruling structure in Srpska.

"Therefore, all those who now appear, travel to America and Brussels, and take on certain commitments without being part of the coalition gathered around the SNSD, do not represent the majority electoral will of the Serb people. They can only try to please and offer themselves to Sarajevo," Košarac said.

He stressed that Republika Srpska and its institutions have capable personnel who can perform that role, emphasizing that they will not give up on the position that the Council of Ministers appoints the chief negotiator with the EU, as it is prescribed that way.

"What the Republika Srpska opposition is trying to do shows that they are completely captive to the agenda imposed on them by Christian Schmidt and the `Troika` from Sarajevo," Košarac concluded.