VERIFICATION OF SITUATION CAUSED BY SCHMIDT'S UNCONSTITUTIONAL DECISION REJECTED

SARAJEVO, JULY 24 /SRNA/ - Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers Staša Košarac said that by deciding to allocate BAM 140,000 to a legal firm for the peaceful resolution of the dispute in the Vijadukt case, the Council of Ministers rejected any verification of the newly emerged situation caused by Christian Schmidt's anti-Dayton and unconstitutional decision.

"This is how the SNSD and representatives of Republika Srpska operate," Košarac told reporters following today's Council of Ministers session.

He emphasized that the bill on the regulator, transmission, and electricity market in BiH was also adopted today, fulfilling an obligation from the Agreement establishing the Energy Community, to which BiH is a signatory.

According to him, the goal is to avoid a situation in which BiH would have to pay a tax imposed by the EU, with the funds remaining in Brussels.

"We want to avoid that situation and, through the Roadmap, define that - if any taxes need to be introduced - they should be imposed by the governments of Republika Srpska and the Federation of BiH /FBiH/, and that the funds remain in the entity environmental protection funds and be allocated according to programs defined by the entity governments," Košarac said.

He added that the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism /CBAM/ tax introduced by the European Commission is much more expensive than any tax that may be imposed by the entity governments.