Press Statement of the Initiative for Monitoring the European Integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina: “We welcome the decision to open negotiations between B&H and the EU – it’s time for a substantial step forward in fulfilling reforms on the path to B&H’s EU membership”

The Initiative for Monitoring the EU Integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as the only coalition of non-governmental organizations in the country that has been monitoring the integration process, welcomes the decision to open negotiations between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Union. After the formal opening of negotiations, it is time for B&H institutions to … Continued

Is Reconciliation a Priority for Bosnia and Herzegovina?

Author: Lejla Gačanica In the Commission Opinion on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s application for membership of the European Union, the fifth priority under the democracy area reads: “take concrete steps to promote an environment conducive to reconciliation in order to overcome the legacies of the war”. The EU recognises in this document that the political environment … Continued

Will Bosnia and Herzegovina’s candidate status be sufficient motivation for the authorities to seriously begin working on European integration?

Author: Denis Čarkadžić In mid-December last year, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) was granted candidate status for membership in the European Union (EU). Emphasising the “current geopolitical context”, the Council of the EU underlined in their decision the urgency for BiH to move forward on the EU path, primarily by fulfilling the 14 key priorities for … Continued

Potemkin’s Candidacy: 2022 Alternative Report on Bosnia and Herzegovina Progress on the Road to the European Union Membership Political Criteria

Granting Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH) the European Union (EU) candidate status could lead the uninformed to believe that the institutions and political representatives have made progress in the reform processes and brought this country closer to the standards of the member states. The Alternative Report of the Initiative for Monitoring the EU Integration of Bosnia … Continued

Statement of the Initiative for Monitoring the European Integration of B&H: Amendments to the Criminal Code of the RS further restrict the already threatened freedom of expression

The Initiative for Monitoring the European Integration of B&H strongly opposes the adoption of the Draft Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code of the Republika Srpska, published on the website of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Srpska on 03/03/23. The aforementioned amendments, which, among other things, criminalize defamation, are contrary to … Continued

The European Parliament and the Enlargement Process: Advocacy Space for Civil Society

Author: Hata Kujraković The rapporteur of the European Parliament for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Paulo Rangel, will soon present to the European Parliament’s (EP) Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) the draft Resolution on the 2022 Commission Report on Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Every year, the relevant resolutions describe the positions of BiH and other Western Balkans … Continued

Together Against Restriction of Rights and Freedoms

Author: Dejan Lučka Last week, Banja Luka hosted a conference entitled “How much freedom we’ll be left with?”. The conference was directly motivated by the announcement of legislative amendments in the Republika Srpska, introducing defamation and insult as criminal offenses, as well as the adoption of a law on fake news and expansion of criminal … Continued

Obligation to Protect Journalists and the Media from Violence and Threats as Part of BiH’s European Integration

Author: Harun Išerić Attacks and threats against journalists: a brief overview The hotline for journalists, operated by the BH Journalists Association, recorded 70 reported cases of violations of journalist rights and media freedoms in 2021, including 16 cases of physical and verbal attacks and threats. Online space is the dominant source of attacks and threats … Continued

Migration and Asylum Management in the Context of EU Integration

Author: Nedim Kulenović Improving the migration and asylum policy management system is emerging as one of the critical issues on BiH’s path to EU integration. The challenges that the country encountered in 2018-2019, as well as during the pandemic, highlighted all the shortcomings of the current system. These risks remain, and authorities must act quickly … Continued