Something wasn't right in the obligatory image of the reception of the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyentogether with the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Ruth visited Sarajevo. In it you can see the Germans, the Dutch and the three members of the Presidium Bosnian-Herzegovina (Željko Komšić, Željka Cvijanović and Denis Bećirović) at the seat of the government of the Balkan state, but behind them are four flags: those of the EU, the Bosnian , the Dutch – and the Croatian. We could ask at this point what the latter was doing there.
Fortunately there is something like a Visit log. This reveals that the Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic was also scheduled to visit the State Presidium of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday morning. But Plenković missed the meeting. The reason is the current President-in-Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina Zeljko Komšić (Members elected from among the three constituent peoples alternate in the presidency every six months, note) The Croatian member of the three-member State Presidium is not recognized by high-ranking politicians in Croatia as a “legitimate representative of the Croatian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina”. In contrast to his predecessors in this position, Komšić is a social democrat who opposes ethno-nationalism. He is mainly criticized by the Croatian nationalist HDZ party, which prefers to see one of his supporters in high office.
➤ Tensions in the Balkans: Croatia denied entry to Serbian President Vučić
Bosnian midfielder: “Deep disrespect for the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina”
“With his decision not to attend this meeting, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia expressed his deep disrespect for the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina and their legitimately elected officials,” wrote Bosnia's largest online portal, Klix.ba, remembering that Plenković had already landed in Sarajevo the day before and subsequently met with the delegations of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Archdiocese of Vrhbosna. In the evening he ate with the top of the HDZ. The next day, together with Ursula von der Leyen and Mark Rutte, he was due to speak to members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina about the candidate country's approach to the EU.
“However, he apparently did not expect that Komšić, who had been out of the country in the previous days, would also be at his place of work. When Plenković received confirmation that Komšić would be at the BIH Presidency building, he decided not to come, ” writes Klix.ba.
Andrej Plenkovic (1st from left) only left after the meeting Von der Leyensand RuthLook with the Bosnian Presidium.
© Image: EPA/FEHIM DEMIR
In a press release, Plenković noted that his absence from the meeting was “not intended to disrespect the institution of the presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina”. Instead, he was concerned about the problem related to the election of the Croatian member of the presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. “Komšić was elected not by the majority of the Croatian people, but by the votes of other ethnicities. For the Croatian government, he is a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina and represents the Croatian people, but without legitimacy”. However, he came to Sarajevo “to help Bosnia and Herzegovina wholeheartedly”.
➤ EU Summit makes Bosnia-Herzegovina a candidate for membership
Komšić compared Plenković to Putin
The Croatian stressed that it was a great pleasure for him to work in the European Parliament to ensure that Bosnia-Herzegovina received the status of an EU candidate country. “Colleagues know very well which country was most committed to starting negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina and who represented this country – I was president of the Croatian government for eight years,” said Plenković, attacking Komšić “There are rumors that the two of we had an informal meeting. If that had happened, I would have liked to ask him why, of all his friends in Bosnia-Herzegovina, he calls me, of all people, Vladimir Putin.”
At the United Nations General Assembly in September, Komšić accused neighboring Croatia and Serbia of interfering in his country's internal affairs. The Bosnian compared the Croatian prime minister to the Russian head of state Vladimir Putinwithout mentioning the name directly, but clearly referring to Andrej Plenkovic.