SARAJEVO, DECEMBER 27 (ONASA) – The Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the President of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nermin Nikšić, positively evaluated the work of the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2023, stating that this federal institution functions in a quality environment and makes decisions unanimously.
In an interview for BHT, Nikšić announced that the budget of the Federation of BiH for 2024 will be on the agenda of the Government session on Friday, that numerous consultations and discussions have taken place, and that the draft budget will be drafted and sent to the FBiH Parliament at the session.
Given that this year was also marked by protests by people suffering from rare diseases, when asked if the FBiH Government could promise that the rights of these people would be respected, Nikšić said that he would do everything to solve the problem systematically.
He reminded that this is a long-standing problem of all previous governments, but that the current FBiH Government has shown empathy – it waived funds for the purchase of official vehicles, and paid funds to the Solidarity Fund, and 10 million BAM was also paid through the rebalancing.
– We will try to solve it systematically, and the Federal Ministry of Health has already prepared an initiative that we sent to the Council of Ministers. The Federation is ready to waive part of the funds from the excise tax for tobacco and tobacco products so that these funds will go directly to the Solidarity Fund – specified Nikšić.
The federal health insurance fund, as he stated, is the only fund that is in deficit, while the cantonal funds are in surplus and this should be seriously considered, because, as he said, patients come from cantons, from the entire Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Nikšić also said that the Federal Government has finalized a set of fiscal laws, but it has not been sent to the parliamentary procedure until the issue of online fiscalization is resolved.
When it comes to the state level, he expressed the expectation that the Law on Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism, which was recently adopted by the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, will also receive support in the House of Peoples, pointing out that this is one of the obligations that Bosnia and Herzegovina needs to fulfill on the European way.
Commenting on the announcement by the president of the RS entity, Milorad Dodik, that the said law will fall before the House of Peoples of the state parliament, Nikšić assessed that such a move would be frivolous.
– I expect that it will not come to that, because it was frivolous considering that the law was supported in the Council of Ministers by people from SNSD. The law passed in the House of Representatives and I see no reason why it should not be adopted in the House of Peoples. This is just one more tick in the series of obligations we have on the European road – Nikšić pointed out.
Speaking about the High Representative for BiH’s ultimatum to politicians and legislators to amend the Electoral Law in the technical part that protects the integrity of the election process, Nikšić assessed it as a positive pressure on the domestic forces to agree and make changes themselves, and not to be imposed by the High Representative.
– In this regard, the representatives of the Troika have been ready for a long time. At the meeting in the previous period, all political parties from the FBiH signed their consent to these technical changes. I believe that there are prerequisites for us to adopt them – emphasized Nikšić.
He also commented on the current situation in the Constitutional Court of BiH, and said that he is aware of the situation, but that he is not ready to fulfill anyone’s ultimatums and blackmail.
When it comes to the functioning of the ruling coalition at the state level, he says that at the beginning they started ambitiously and openly on the basis of what they signed and agreed upon, solving the first five legal projects.
After that, as he said, there was a standstill, there was a trial before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina against Milorad Dodik and certain conditions.
– It is really a rather difficult situation when it comes to these relations, many conditions are set. We want to take as many steps as possible on BiH’s European path, in order to receive a positive report in March next year – emphasized Nikšić.
Nevertheless, he says that despite all the turbulence, tension and conditioning, they are going step by step, saying that they should continue to talk and try to bring their positions closer together.