Bosnian Presidency to discuss Council of Ministers Chairman nomination next week

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Bosnia’ tripartite Presidency will next week discuss the candidacy of Zoran Tegeltija for the position of the Chairman of the country’s head of government, the Chairman of the Presidency, Milorad Dodik, told the Nezavisne Novine daily on Friday.

The announcement came after the three Presidency members returned from a visit to Brussels where EU officials urged them to form a government as soon as possible as four months have already passed since the general election.

“They also expect the governments to be formed on all levels, most of all the Council of Ministers. That is also clear to me and to the other two Presidency members,” Dodik told Nezavisne Novine.

The Council of Ministers is the official name of Bosnia’s government.

Dodik pointed out that the government could have been formed earlier on the state level, as the name of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers is already known for a while. But the Bosniak and the Croat members objected to Tegeltija taking over the post because he stated he does not want Bosnia to join NATO.

Still, there is not much they can do as the post is rotated between Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs and this time, it’s the Serb’s turn and their only proposal was Tegeltija.

Bosnia’s Serbs refuse to allow the country to join NATO, arguing that they are following the policy of neighbouring Serbia which opted for military neutrality.

“It is important for the other two Presidency members to agree to hold a session and finishing it,” Dodik said, adding that there was no point in scheduling such a meeting if his two colleagues were not willing to decide on the issue.

“Impressive to witness up close how the three new members of the BiH Presidency put aside their differences and agreed coordinated positions during a first joint visit to meet with EU leaders,” the head of the EU Delegation in Bosnia, Lars-Gunnar Wigemark, posted on Twitter on Wednesday.