Jessie Hronesova & Adis Merdžanović :
Desetog novembra, mjesec kasnije nego inače, Evropska komisija je objavila godišnje izvještaje o napretku koji su postigle zemlje kandidati EU i potencijalni kandidati. Jessie Hronesova i Adis Merdžanović o Bosni i Hercegovini: Malo je opravdanja za optimizam Komisije
10.12.2015.
Jessie Hronesova & Adis Merdžanović :
On 10 November, a month later than usual, the European Commission released its annual reports on the progress achieved by EU candidate and potential candidate countries. Jessie Hronesova and Adis Merdžanović on Bosnia and Herzegovina: There is little justification for the Commission’s optimism
10.12.2015.
U svom izlaganju o Izvještaju o napretku 2015. o Bosni i Hercegovini (BiH) u Briselu 10. novembra, Komesar EU za politiku susjedstva i pregovore o proširenju Johannes Hahn je ocijenio da se zemlja “vratila na put reforme”. U 2015. Sporazum o stabilizaciji i priključenju konačno je stupio na snagu i bilo je čak ‘nekih implementacija reformske agende’ od strane domaćih institucija. Pozitivan ton o razvoju u BiH takođe je vidljiv kroz izvještaj o napretku, posebno u poređenju sa kritikom BiH prošle godine.
Dok je izvještaj iz 2014. spominjao ‘mali napredak’ i zaključio da ‘nema dovoljno iskrene političke podrške za EU’, izvještaj iz 2015. koristi pozitivnu formulaciju ‘izvjestan napredak’ u nekoliko područja politike i hvali parlament BiH što je započeo ‘rad na agendi o zakonodavstvu’. Tako široka pozitivna poruka je imala za cilj da održi politički momentum, ali je jedva u liniji sa aktuelnim razvojem u zemlji, što nudi tek nekoliko razloga za optimizam. Paket izvještaja o napretku 2015. slijedi novu metodologiju. Kvalitet i detalji informacija su donekle pobljšani pošto izvještaji o napretku sada nude više informacija kroz ocjenu ‘sadašnje situacije’ i sažete smjernice o tome šta se od zemalja očekuje da učine u oblasti politike. Napredak je ocijenjen na skali od pet – veoma dobar napredak, dobar napredak, izvjestan napredak, bez napretka i nazadovanje – dozvoljavajući lakša poređenja u zemlji i iz godine u godinu.
Veća usporedivost će se svakako pokazati korisnom. Nova metodologija dovela je do jasnije prezentacije zaključaka i identificiranja narednih zadataka. Ipak, izvještavanje i dalje slijedi uglavnom tehnokratski pristup, koji ne uspijeva da odredi prioritet specifičnih oblasti politike ili njihove aspekte, i može se pokazati suviše oskudnim za pravo elaboriranje nekih izazova u okviru oblasti politike.
Kad se ovo pomnije pogleda, uprkos pozitivnom tonu komesara Hahna, nijedna oblast politike u BiH nije dobila ocjenu veoma dobar napredak. Dobar napredak je zabilježen samo u oblasti politike nabavke zbog stupanja na snagu novog zakona. Nekoliko oblasti politike – na primjer vlast (prihvatanje reformske agende) ili sudstvo (prihvatanje strategije novog pravosuđa) – pokazuju izvjestan napredak, dok su brojne oblasti bez ikakvog napretka.
Najviše zabrinjavaju oblasti, nedvojbeno, koje se odnose na sektor medija i slobodu izražavanja, gdje je zabilježen stvarni nazadak. Kako dalje u izvještaju stoji: “institucionalno i političko okruženje nije pogodno za stvaranje uvjeta za punu slobodu izražavanja”. Dokument dalje kritizira političke pritiske na novinare i nedostatak transparentnosti vlasništva medija.
Ukratko, izvještaj prenaglašava male korake koje su preduzele domaće političke elite u zemlji ne obazirući se na činjenicu da veliki dio reformske agende ostaje deklarativan. EU će morati uložiti više političkog kapitala da bi se osigurala stvarna implementacija.
Ocjena izvještaja političkog kriterija ne odražava ozbiljnost političke situacije na terenu. Prelazi preko nove prijetnje iz Republike Srpske, jednog od dva entiteta BiH, koji nastoji da organizira referendum o sudstvu i ne pridaje važnost ozbiljnosti političkog pokroviteljstva i njegovoj ulozi na posljednjim izborima, koje je ovaj izvještaj ocijenio kao održane u ‘kompetitivnom okruženju’.
Na kraju, pretjerano pozitivna poruka Evropske komisije upućena sa najnovijim izvještajem jedva može da se opravda s obzirom na politički, socijalni i ekonomski razvoj u zemlji.
In his presentation of the 2015 Progress Report on Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in Brussels on 10 November, the EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, deemed the country ‘back on the reform track’. In 2015, the Stabilisation and Association Agreement had finally entered into force and there was even ‘some implementation of the Reform Agenda’ passed by the domestic institutions. The positive tone about the developments in BiH is also visible throughout the progress report, especially when compared to the criticism BiH received last year.
While the 2014 report spoke of ‘little progress’ and concluded that there was a ‘lack of genuine political support for the EU’, the 2015 report uses the positive formulation of ‘some progress’ in several policy areas and praises BiH’s parliament for starting to ‘deliver on the legislative agenda’. Such a broad positive message is aimed at keeping the political momentum going, but it is hardly in line with the actual developments in the country, which provide few reasons for optimism.
The 2015 progress report package follows a new methodology. The quality and detail of the information provided has somewhat improved as the progress reports now offer more background information through an assessment of the ‘state of play’ and succinct guidelines on what the countries are expected to do in each policy area. Progress is assessed on a five-tier scale – very good progress, good progress, some progress, no progress and backsliding – allowing for easier cross-country and year-to-year comparisons.
The greater comparability will surely prove useful. The new methodology has led to a clearer presentation of the findings and identification of the tasks ahead. However, the reporting still follows a largely technocratic approach, which fails to prioritise specific policy areas, or aspects thereof, and may prove too stringent for properly elaborating on certain challenges within policy areas.
On a closer read, despite the positive tone of Commissioner Hahn, no policy area in BiH was evaluated as having very good progress. Good progress is noted only in the area of public procurement due to the entry into force of a new law. Several policy areas – for example governance (adoption of the reform agenda) or the judiciary (adoption of a new justice strategy) – show some progress, while there are numerous areas with none.
The most worrying areas are, arguably, those related to the media sector and freedom of expression, where actual backsliding was recorded. As the report remarks: “the institutional and political environment is not conducive to creating the conditions for full freedom of expression”. The document further criticises political pressures on journalists and the lack of transparency of media ownership.
Overall, the report over-emphasises the small steps taken by the country’s domestic political elites without giving proper consideration to the fact that much of the reform agenda remains declarative. The EU will have to spend significantly more political capital to ensure actual implementation.
The report’s assessment of the political criteria does not reflect the seriousness of the political situation on the ground. It brushes over the renewed threat from Republika Srpska, one of BiH’s two federal entities, trying to organise a referendum on the judiciary, and does scant justice to the severity of political patronage and its role during the last elections, which this report assessed as held in a ‘competitive environment’.
Ultimately, the overly positive message the European Commission sent out with this newest report is hardly justified given the political, social, and economic developments in the country.
Jessie Hronesova – University of Oxford Jessie Hronsova je doktorski kandidat u oblasti politike na Oxford Univerzitetu. Adis Merdžanović – University of Oxford Adis Merdžanović je mlađi znanstveni saradnik na South East European Studies at Oxford (SEESX), St Antony’s College, University of Oxford.
Jessie Hronesova – University of Oxford Jessie Hronesova is a DPhil candidate in politics at Oxford University. Adis Merdžanović – University of Oxford Adis Merdžanović is a Junior Research Fellow at South East European Studies at Oxford (SEESOX), St Antony’s College, University of Oxford.
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