European Forum

Full report on the European Forum conference on EU integration in Sarajevo

On 13 and 14 November the European Forum for Democracy and Solidarity organised a mission to Banja Luka and a conference in Sarajevo with the topic: “Bosnia and Herzegovina, catching the EU train”. The events were supported by the Labour Party through Westminster Foundation for Democracy Funds.

Political context
The worsening socio-economic (unemployment rate of 43%) and political situation, characterized by nationalist rhetoric and ethnic division, are worrying. Hoping for a better future, most citizens of BiH support the EU accession, but due to the inefficiency and incapability of the institutions the country is legging behind in the EU integration process. Furthermore, the badly prepared 'Butmir' talks are unlikely to bring any break-through in the political deadlock. Moreover, as argued by one of the speakers at the conference, Prof. Cenic, the enforced talks by the international community in the military base Butmir near Sarajevo show that the democratic institutions in the country are neglected and considered as incapable of making decisions and reforms. Whilst all politicians in the country strongly support EU integration of the country, they are unfortunately rarely acting to it. Local leaders and representatives of the international community are constantly pointing the finger at each other while at the same time the living standards of ordinary citizens and overall socio-economic situation are deteriorating.

Mission to Banja Luka
On 13 November a delegation of the European Forum, headed by Hannes Swoboda (vice-president of the Progressive Alliance of Social Democrats (S&D) in the European Parliament) and Tanja Fajon (member of the European Parliament for the Progressive Alliance of Social Democrats (S&D), visited Banja Luka and held talks with Union of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), opposition (parties) and non-governmental organisations. Two contradicting pictures on the current situation in Republika Srpska (RS) were given.

On the one hand, the Prime Minister of RS and leader of SNSD Milorad Dodik argued that the political and economic situation in RS is stable and he denied the lack of democracy and freedom of the media. Furthermore, Dodik confirmed his commitment on EU integration and said, although he does not love BiH, he respects the territorial integrity of the country and denied any aspirations for succession of RS, claiming not to be an adventurer. Finally, the Prime Minister expressed his willingness to discuss constitutional reforms and proposed eight points for these reforms.

On the other hand, non-governmental organisations and opposition in RS gave a extremely depressive picture on the situation in RS and whole BiH as well. The poverty, unemployment and ethnic division have increased, whilst the government of RS is controlling all facets of the society. There is a strong lack of democracy and freedom of media and critical voices are strongly suppressed and sometimes physically attacked. In addition, the current political elite knows it will not bring the country into the EU, and therefore not get the credit for doing it, and has advantage by maintaining the status quo.

Besides these contradicting interpretations of the reality, a positive and welcomed message was delivered by Fajon who is leading and pushing the talks on visa liberalization for Western Balkans. On 13 November the European Parliament supported a motion according to which citizens of Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia will be able to travel visa-free to the EU from 19 December of this year. BiH, Albania and Kosovo were left behind and Fajon is working hard to make it possible for the citizens of BiH to travel visa-free from July 2010. According to the new MEP from Slovenia, 95% of the conditions are met. Still, work has to be done, for example the establishment of an anti-corruption organisation on the state level.

Conference on EU integration in Sarajevo
On Saturday 14 November the European Forum organised a successful conference in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Sarajevo, with the topic: “Bosnia and Herzegovina catching the EU train”. The event, supported by the British Labour Party through Westminster Foundation for Democracy Funds, was attended by more than fifty rrepresentatives from social democratic parties from BiH, the region and the EU, as well as several experts on the topic and representatives of international organisations. One of the main aims of the conference was to bring important social democratic political actors from BiH, the region and the European Union together in order to discuss the main challenges the country is facing nowadays, solutions and perspectives and opportunities that future EU membership offers to the people in the Western Balkans. The prospect of future EU membership will hopefully go hand in hand with the development of institutions, less ethnic tensions, less unemployment and improved living conditions in general.

Introduction
After the conference was opened by Jan Marinus Wiersma, vice-president of the European Forum, Hannes Swoboda, vice-president of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) in the European Parliament, Ana Trišić-Babić, deputy minister of foreign affairs of BiH (SNSD) and Svetozar Pudarić, president of the main board of the SDP BiH gave the introductionary speeches.

Swoboda stated that the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty brings a new positive attitude for the candidates and future candidates states, so that the EU can now look into the integration of the Western Balkan, adding that it is in the will and interest of the EU to integrate BiH, not an obligation. An important condition for BiH is to reform its constitution. Regarding the Dayton Agreement, Swoboda argued it has to be adjusted drastically. BiH should have a positive attitude and look at the interests and rights of its own citizens, as there is no one specific model for a constitution required to enter the EU. Furthermore, more emphasis should be put on the fight against corruption and organized crime. BiH should take advantage of the fact that the EU is now more open, and take into account the interests of its citizens, not of ethnic groups.

The second speaker, Ana Trišić-Babić deputy minister of foreign affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina and member of main board of the Union of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), said that the international community has no clear strategy towards the region. The Dayton Agreement gave BiH the first breath to live, but now the country is facing a standstill in EU integration. The people in BiH should not see the EU as a solution to all of their problems, since the solution lays in compromising within BiH. Trišić-Babić sees the elections of 2010 as an incentive for reforms, as it could resolve the issue of the constitution and create a dialogue between domestic politicians.

Finally, Svetozar Pudarić, president of the main board of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) of Bosnia and Herzegovina, argued there should be free and democratic elections in BiH to generate legitimacy. He looks at the accession process as two parties, the EU and BiH, with a shared goal. He concluded that conservative parties will not bring change which will lead to more equality. After all, only the left can achieve the transformation of the post-conflict society, among others by convince other parties to behave differently.

Current political, economic and societal challenges and solutions
After the introductory speeches James Lyon, head of the parliament and government section of the Office of the High Representative (OHR), set out the goal of the OHR, namely to achieve a prosperous BiH, fully integrated in the EU. At this moment, the country is in a deadlock, since legislative authorities and the basic government has achieved little in the past few years. Creativity and change comes from open debate, however, in BiH there is no climate of debate where a large part of the population can articulate their views. OHR will help the integration process whilst security and identity will be safeguarded. Finally, Lyon stressed that the citizens of BiH need solidarity from the EU.

The second speaker in this panel was Kurt Bassuener, senior associate of the Democratization Policy Council. He agreed with Lyon that in the past few years instability and insecurity have increased in BiH and that OHR will remain in place until BiH will “graduate”. According to Bassuener the open door of the EU is not working for BiH due to the fact that the Dayton Agreement is based on ethnic division. In the past years, the EU and international community in BiH have constructed an illusion of forward movement and hoped this would happen: “You don’t have to move towards the EU, the EU will move towards you”. He stressed that, before focusing on EU integration, BiH should function for its citizens first and that the role of the High Representative and EU Special Representative must be split. The first mentioned should guard the Dayton Security net, whilst the latest should focus on the EU integration process of the country.

The third speaker of the panel was Prof. Dr. Svetlana Cenić, researcher and columnist. She stated that the enforced talks by the international community in the military base Butmir show that the democratic institutions in the country are neglected and considered as incapable of making decisions and reforms. As far as the Stabilisation and Association Agreements (SAA) and further EU integration is concerned, people in BiH should be aware of the costs for them. There is no good communication and education on the EU to the public. Furthermore, BiH should first strengthen its own institutions and pay attention to other sectors, like the business sector, before integrating further into the EU. Finally, Cenić stressed the importance of strengthening the Civil Society and involving all societal lawyers in tackling the current challenges and achieving change.

The final speaker of the first panel Emir Đikić, chair of the board of directors of Transparency International (TI) BiH, said that the aim must be on fighting corruption, since at this moment corruption is spread throughout the whole society, it is seen as normal, privatization being the most corrupt process in BiH. Corruption measured by the TI by looking at the perception of the corruption of the citizens, is the worst in BiH compared to other countries in the region. Unfortunately, in the last 2 years, there has been no progress regarding anti-corruption legislation. Additionally, political leaders should represent their citizens, not their parties, while the latest mentioned should be transparent on their party financing.

After these speeches there was room for questions, remarks and discussion. Srđjan Mazalica member of main board, president of SNSD Youth and member of the parliament of Republika Srpska argued that the OHR is intentionally creating instability in BiH in order to stay in the country and safeguard their jobs at the HR office. However, according to Lyon, it is Dodik, the leader of the SNSD and prime minister of Republika Srpska, who continues blocking progress in BiH and trying to undo the reforms required and set out in the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA). In a reaction to this comment, Siniša Dodik member of the parliament of Republika Srpska and member of the main board said that power must be given back to the official (local and domestic) institutions.

David Capezzuto political advisor of the PES regretted that there is no space for love in BiH politics, referring to an earlier statement of secretary general of SNSD Rajko Vasić, adding that while conservatives are about self-interest and benefits for the few, the politics of social democrats must be about love, love for ourselves and for the others, solidarity, rights, and the common good. Furthermore, he said that during the election campaign of 2010, political parties in BiH should avoid playing the fear and nationalist card and put themes that really matter to the everyday life of ordinary citizens, including social security, education and health care, on the top of the agenda. For social-democrats there can be no space for discourses based on identity and insecurity propaganda. In times of elections, this is not always the easy path but it pays in the long-term. Social-democrats are there to offer hope, change, a real chance to people. The sooner political parties in BiH will move away from constitutional deadlocks and identity discourses, the sooner they will be able to address issues ordinary citizens are concerned about.

Miroslav Živanović of the SDP BiH stressed that the best solution for BiH are Human Rights. Only a strong, not necessary centralized, state can provide these rights. Lyon agreed that BiH should focus on a unified, not centralized state and added that BiH should focus more on maintaining Dayton instead of focusing on EU integration. Helmut Kurt, director of the FES office in BiH questioned whether political parties really have the capacity to assist to the transformation process. In a reaction Cenić agreed to this comment, stressing the crucial role of civil society in this transformation process. However, she added that the civil society and private sector are completely neglected and badly supported, which is sending a negative message to the whole society. The representatives of the public sector, private sector and civil society should be brought together, in order to increase awareness among citizens.

BiH in a regional perspective
Miloš Šolaja, executive director Centre for International Relations, was the first speaker on this topic. Šolaja emphasized the importance of social dialogue. Considering the fact that 76% of the laws in BiH are imposed by the international community, local politicians can say they are not accountable.

The second speaker, Prof. Dr. Antun Vujić member of the parliament for the Social Democratic Party of Croatia, questioned whether Butmir talks would be the crisis of the beginning or the beginning of a new crisis. According to Vujić Croats and Serbs living in BiH should solve their problems within BiH. A major problem is that the country is rather closed and that the political debate is all about the state and ethnic issues. A paradigm shift is needed towards social questions.

Miloš Đjajić, director Centre of Modern Skills, agreed with Vujić on this. In addition, he described the relation between Serbia and BiH as complex, double discourse. The Democratic Party of Serbia does not have a clear point of view on the current situation in BiH, adding that the issue of Kosovo independence affect BiH. Finally, Đjajić argued there are opportunities to improve the situation in the country, namely: better co-operation between social democratic parties in BiH and the region, improving the relationship between Serbia and BiH and assistance in meeting the conditions for visa liberalization.

After a light was shed on the regional perspective, representatives of the social democratic parties from the region intervened. Arta Dade, member of parliament and international secretary of the Socialist Party of Albania, expressed the wish of Albania for visa liberalization and EU integration, understanding that the conditions should be met first. Regarding poverty and corruption Albania is in the same situation as BiH. Dade advised the EU not to take things for granted in BiH, for example the elections of 2010. Finally, Dade advised the EU not to disregard the violation of democratic standards especially free and fair elections as the corner stone of democracy, referring to the elections in Albania.

Jelena Mitrović, member of the main board of the SDP of Montenegro and president of the Social Democratic Youth of Montenegro, stated that no single state should intervene in BiH internal issues and that the territorial sovereignty of BiH is supported by Montenegro. When it comes to multi-ethnicity her country is functioning well and might therefore be able to assist BiH.

Zoran Popov, international secretary of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) argued that the EU perspective is an incentive to carry out reforms. Among others, proper implementation of Ohrid Framework Agreement contributed to the political stability of the country and Macedonia gained candidate status in 2005. Furthermore, Macedonian experience has shown that the European Commission is strict, but fair and objective broker, the best friend on the road tot he EU. If you deliver results in reform agenda, you progress on the way to the EU. Popov believes that BiH should cooperate with OHR as much as possible. OHR will be happy to leave, upon conditions are met. Macedonia wants a united and strong BiH, which will be beneficial for the whole region.

Majlind Lazimi, advisor for the ministry of foreign affairs and international coordinator of the Socialist Movement for Integration of Albania, believes that the construction of the EU as a global power and integration of the Western Balkans into the EU should go hand in hand. Albania is doing its utmost in order to fulfill the criteria for visa liberalization and hopes to obtain this in 2010.

Finally, Nand Shani, expert for economic and social development of the Regional Cooperation Council, pointed at the important benefits of regional cooperation, such as economic growth, better living standards and more stability. In order to catch the EU train, BiH will certainly need regional co-operation.

The role of the EU in BiH: future international involvement, expectations and reality
The first speaker, Maja Nenadović PhD candidate at the University of Amsterdam, argued it is important to stop shifting blame in BiH politics and to focus on things that can be done and improved, for example, dismantling of the two-schools-under-one-roof system (ethnically divided schools with no interaction between children from different ethic background) and developing one history textbook for BiH instead of the current 14 versions, as after all, it all starts with education. Furthermore Nenadović pointed out that the EU faces its own problems and that therefore the integration of the Western Balkans is not a top priority for the EU. Therefore, local politicians should occupy themselves persuading their citizens, as they are going to decide whether or not to enter the EU. She asked to the representatives of the SNSD and SDP whether there is room for cooperation between the two parties.

The second speaker of this panel was Tanja Fajon, member of the European Parliament for the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) and Social Democrats Slovenia. Fajon finds it difficult to understand why people in BiH are building new ethnic walls. At the moment she is leading and pushing the talks on visa liberalization for Western Balkans, but she finds it striking that in BiH people rarely travel between Banja Luka and Sarajevo. The EU should not wait too long with visa liberalization, as this will create new walls. The fastest possible scenario for BiH citizens to travel visa free is July 2010, however, still important conditions have to be met, for example the establishment of a anti-corruption institution on state level. Finally, Fajon said that the lack of freedom of expression and press is a major challenge, which, if not tackled, could lead the whole society into the wrong direction.

Derek Vaughan, member of the European Parliament for the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), Labour Party UK, stated that the UK Labour Party has always supported EU enlargement. Furthermore, Vaughan set out how Wales has profited from enlargement and argued that the S&D Group in the European Parliament can help BiH to make progress. The road to accession will be long and difficult, but it can be done. S&D should be the drivers for progressive change, as socialists are always the optimists.

After this panel there was room for questions, remarks and discussion. Mazalica said that the constitution should be changed in such way it is beneficial for everybody, adding that we should start discussing things we agree on. At a question from Dade, Fajon said that she thinks that Albania and BiH will remain in the package for visa liberalization. Damir Masić, member of presidency and main board of SDP BiH, commented that concerning visa liberalization at this moment the situation in BiH is not fair: Bosnian Serbs and Bosnians Croats can apply for respectively Serbian and Croatian passport and travel freely, whilst Bosniacs and other ethnic groups can not yet. In addition, Masić said there was no room for cooperation between a internationally oriented and social democratic party, referring to SDP and a nationalist party, referring to SNSD. Mazalica of the SNSD on the other hand, said to be open for co-operation with SDP. Fajon criticized the financial support of the Republika Srpska government to media outlets due to the economic crisis. She thinks this is a dangerous development, since it prevents people to be critical about their country and the government, as they financially depend on the latest. Mazalica replied that in fact the objective of the government was to prevent people from losing their jobs.

EU and Western Balkans: role of international community and EC Progress Report
Elvis Žutić of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) presented a research in which results show that the most important problems for citizens in BiH are unemployment, crime and corruption. This are certainly not the topics were the politicians of BiH talk about. According to the research, the majority of the citizens thinks things have taken the wrong course. Furthermore, Žutić shortly presented the work of NDI in the country and argued that political parties in BiH do not need support in campaigning, but in strengthening the capacity of politicians and internal party politics.

The last speaker Andrea Cellino, Director of Policy Planning/Chief of Cabinet OSCE Mission to BiH, focused on the European Commission Progress Report of 2009 and said BiH made a big step forward with Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA). This is just the first step and BiH is clearly legging behind with visa liberalization. Eventually there should be a transition from OHR to EU Special Representative, however, the conditions for this still have not fully been met. In BiH there has been little progress concerning EU related reforms, for example in the field of human rights. According to Cellino, media and education should be reformed, human rights should be established and the implementation and reinforcement of laws should be improved. Also civil society is in a very difficult situation, as, being artificially created by outsiders, it is not working properly. Cellino concluded by arguing that the government should involve citizens more, especially in the EU integration process.

After this panel there was room for questions and remarks. Vujić of the SDP of Croatia said it was a key interest of Croatia to get BiH into the EU. Bassuener of the Democratization Policy Council commented that the current state structure is not consistent with social and democratic values.

Closing remarks were made by Jan Marinus Wiersma vice-president of the European Forum. The conference was a good initiative, however it is unfortunate that it is necessary that people of the region have to meet here. Wiersma stated that separation of the BiH Federation and Republika Srpska will not happen, and that therefore people will have to learn to live with the current situation. Furthermore, politicians should address the real problems in BiH, not the national rhetoric. It is logical that the EU will more and more take over the role of the international community to help BiH. Eventually, BiH will catch one of the trains, because there is the commitment of the EU. However, it is important to notice that BiH can only enter the EU as a state.

Conclusion and recommendations
It became clear during the conference that the main concerns of the BiH citizens, unemployment, crime, corruption and economic situation in general are not addressed by the politicians in the country. On the contrary, as the parliamentary elections in autumn 2010 approach, it seems that the political leaders are more intensively playing the nationalist card. It is a responsibility of the social democratic parties to address and present these social issues in the campaign for the elections. However, considering the current political situation and the framework of the public debate ― strongly dominated by state and ethnic questions ― it seems unlikely this will happen. Social democratic parties in BiH should set an example and avoid any debate on nationalist and ethnic division in the election campaign.

Due to the inefficiency and incapability of the state institutions to make the necessary (constitutional) reforms, the country is legging behind in the EU integration process. Recent research has shown that 87% of BiH citizens supports future EU membership of the country. Although all politicians in the country strongly support EU integration, they are unfortunately rarely acting to it. In order to make a shift from the nationalist-ethnic to a EU paradigm it is of crucial importance to strengthen the civil society in BiH and to involve not only political parties, but all societal layers in the political debate and country’s integration process towards the EU. With united effort, it could be made possible for all citizens of BiH to travel visa free to the EU from July of 2010. This could be a important step in bringing the EU closer to BiH citizens and an incentive to increase all efforts in bringing the country closer to the EU membership and, with that, improving the human rights situation and living standards of people living in BiH. In the meanwhile, continued international presence is needed in the country, guaranteeing the territorial integrity but not meddling in politics. Only in this case will local politicians take responsibility for country's future.

The relationship between the Union of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) and Social Democratic Party of BiH (SDP BiH) has never been worse. On the high level there is no cooperation between the two main social democratic parties and their leaders have already ruled out any possibility for a future coalition. However, it is of great importance for social democracy in BiH to have interaction between SDP and SNSD as they should lead the country towards the EU.