BOSNIA - RS CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS AIMED AT THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SARAJEVO 000541 SIPDIS C O R R E C T E D C O P Y - PARAGRAPH 1, SECOND TO LAST SENTENCE MODIFIED. SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SCE(HOH/FOOKS0; NSC FOR BRAUN; OSD FOR BEIN E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/01/2015 TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR KDEM EU BK SUBJECT: BOSNIA - RS CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS AIMED AT THE STATE AND THE EU SARAJEVO 00000541 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Michael J. Murphy. Reason 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The Republika Srpska National Assembly (RSNA) adopted draft amendments to the Republika Srpska (RS) constitution on March 19, which will require a two-thirds majority for future transfers of entity-level competencies to the state, change the official capital of the RS from Sarajevo to Banja Luka, and abolish the death penalty. The draft amendments are now open to public debate for 45 days and will then be returned to the RSNA for a final reading. A two-thirds majority of RSNA delegates must then approve the amendments in order for them to be adopted. RS officials have characterized the amendments in their totality as a positive step towards Europe, but the longer-term impact could be to slow progress on the European path. Our European colleagues have told us repeatedly that EU membership will require the entities to transfer more competencies to the state, but the RS amendments will make this much more difficult. Dodik may not believe, or perhaps understand, that EU integration will require additional transfers. In a recent interview he said that the RS would not transfer competencies to the state "because of European integration." END SUMMARY. We Can Do This Oursevles -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On March 19 the RSNA adopted draft amendments to the RS constitution. Seventy-two deputies voted for the draft amendments, while only two voted against and none abstained. RSNA speaker Igor Radojicic told the RSNA that the RS constitution "was changed 42 times by imposed decisions and then several times more under pressure, for a total of 121 amendments." He added, "this time, without hurry and pressure, we can enter into a discussion to create a modern act, conscious that we cannot have a new constitution, but we can improve the existing one in accordance with European standards, consistent and coherent." Restricting Transfer of Competencies -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The RS constitution currently does not address the procedure for the transfer of RS competencies to the state. In the past, the RS government would initiate the transfer and forward the proposal to the RSNA for adoption. The RSNA would then adopt the proposal by a conclusion with a simple majority. The new amendment to the RS constitution, if adopted in the second reading, will formally proscribe the procedure by requiring a two-thirds majority approval by RSNA delegates before any competency can be transferred to the state. The text of the amendment itself is short, and only states that the procedure for the transfer of competencies will be identical to the procedure for amending the constitution (i.e., a two-thirds majority). RS Claims Illegal Transfers -------------- ¶4. (C) RS Prime Minister Milorad Dodik and his government have harshly criticized the previous government for transferring, they claim, 53 competencies to the state. They have also asserted that many of these transfers were illegal. This rhetoric is deliberately misleading. In fact, only four competencies have been transferred from the entities to the state: defense, indirect taxation, competencies associated with the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council, and creation of a Bosnia-wide electricity transmission company. The figure 53 appears to be derived from number of state-level institutions that currently exist. These include institutions such as the Presidency, the Council of Ministers, and the Parliament, which were established by Dayton, as well as institutions created to implement competencies assigned to the state by Dayton, such as the State Border Police and the State Investigation and Protection Agency. The RS and Europe -------------- ¶5. (SBU) According to RS government statements, a number of the proposed amendments are meant to bring the RS SARAJEVO 00000541 002.2 OF 002 constitution into accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights and Basic Freedoms and its Protocols, the Convention on the Rights of Children, and the European Charter on Local Self-Administration. These amendments will abolish the death penalty, ban slavery and forced labor, guarantee the right to a fair trial, guarantee the rights of children and ban discrimination. The amendments also guarantee freedoms of expression, association, and personal security; along with the right to privacy and the right to be considered innocent until proven guilty. Banja Luka Formally Designated RS Capital -------------- ¶6. (SBU) The proposed amendments formally change the capital of the RS from Eastern Sarajevo to Banja Luka. They also give greater rights to cities and municipalities of the RS, as "units of local self-administration." The amendments clearly define such units, proscribe their financial autonomy, give them property and property management rights and "independence in the decision-making process." Slavko Mitrovic, a key Dodik advisor, told us that the RS government is working to strengthen local government structures in accordance with EU standards, and that the amendments are part of this effort. Amendments Open for Public Debate -------------- ¶7. (SBU) According to the procedure to amend the RS constitution, draft amendments need a simple majority for adoption, and are then published in the media and opened for public debate for a time period proscribed by the RSNA. In this instance, they have determined that it will be 45 days. After the public debate is completed the amendments will be forwarded to the RSNA in the form of proposals for a second reading and can be formally adopted with a two-thirds majority. Comment -------------- ¶8. (C) The proposed amendments to the RS constitution have broad, non-partisan support in the RSNA. The amendments are being cast by RS officials as an effort to modernize the RS constitution by bringing it in line with standing European Conventions and by giving greater rights to local administration units (i.e., municipalities). However, the amendments will make the transfer of competencies to the state level more difficult by raising the requirement from a simple majority to a two-thirds majority. As a result, any future transfer will require the support of both the ruling coalition and at least some of the opposition parties. This is likely to make Bosnia's path to Europe more arduous, since implementation of a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) as well as fulfillment of the EU's acquis communitaire will probably require the transfer of additional competencies by the RS to the state. It is unclear whether RS PM Dodik understands this. In a March 24 interview, he proclaimed, "the RS will not transfer a single of its authorities to the state level because of European integration. I said that long time ago. RS is much more important for us than some other processes." ENGLISH