SARAJEVO -- The European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi on May 17 warned aspiring member Bosnia-Herzegovina that EU allies do not visit Russia, another show of disappointment in the country after Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik’s trip to Moscow last year.
"Our allies don't go to Russia -- that is my message," Varhelyi said in response to a reporter's question on Dodik's visit. "Who wants to be our ally, does not go to Russia."
Bosnia, which applied to join the EU in 2016, was granted candidate status in December following concern that the war in Ukraine may destabilize the Balkan region. But it also attached a long list of conditions designed to bolster democracy in the Balkan country.
"We need Bosnia-Herzegovina to be our ally," Varhelyi told a news conference in Sarajevo after a high-level political forum outlining steps that Bosnia should take to join the EU.
It’s important to send strong messages from Sarajevo to present a common front, he added.
Varhelyi praised the progress made in "record time" to form a government and draw up budgets following general elections in October.
He also said that he was encouraged to see a commitment by stakeholders to deliver on reforms agreed when it was granted candidate status and its "very clear commitment as a European ally."
But statements by Dodik, along with his trip to Moscow, which included a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, highlight the lack of unity on foreign policy in Bosnia.
Dodik had already run afoul of the bloc when in January he awarded Putin with the highest honor of the entity he leads, which sparked a similar rebuke and warning about Bosnia-Herzegovina needing to be mindful of the rule of law as it pursues EU membership.
Dodik opposes imposing sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and recognizing Kosovo as independent state. He also has been trying to separate Republika Srpska’s military, police, and tax administration from the central Bosnian government, actions that contravene the 1995 Dayton accords.
Russia and Serbia tacitly support Dodik’s actions.
The political forum in Sarajevo on May 17 was chaired by Varhelyi and Borjana Kristo, chairman of the Bosnian Council of Ministers. It was organized by the European Commission with the aim of monitoring the implementation of its recommendations and reporting on Bosnia’s progress on the European path.
“Today we considered the activities facing the new authorities, which are clear indicators of the work. We had the opportunity to hear the readiness to work on all questions and problems," Varhelyi said.
Kristo said the European Union has expressed its readiness to help Bosnia on its way to EU membership after it fulfills the conditions.
"The EU is ready to provide all kinds of assistance, financial and professional, in this process,” Kristo said, but Bosnia must first fulfill conditions.
The forum was attended by representatives of the Bosnian legislative authority, as well as the highest representatives of the executive authority in the entities of Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat federation, and the administrative unit of the Brcko district of Bosnia.
As part of the enlargement package for 2023, the European Commission will report again on Bosnia’s progress in the implementation of 14 key priorities on the path to EU membership.
The European Commission defined the priorities in May 2019 and divided them into four areas: democracy and functioning of institutions, the rule of law, basic rights, and public administration reform.
When Bosnia’s candidate status was confirmed in December, the EU said it would start negotiations on full membership once eight conditions were fulfilled.
Bosnia joined other EU candidates -- Albania, Moldova, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey, and Ukraine -- in a long process that can take many years and involve complex negotiations on adjusting local laws to match those of the EU.