After his amendment to the Report was not accepted, demanding that the document insert the wording that BiH “needs to continue with constitutional, political and electoral reforms that would transform BiH into an effective, inclusive and fully functional state in which to guarantee equality and democratic representation of all its constituent peoples and citizens, based on the principles of federalism, subsidiarity and legitimate representation, in accordance with the principles expressed in previous resolutions", Picula refused to support it.
He explained this in his speech in the European Parliament, where he noted that “although we regularly discuss the BiH Annual Report and not the Progress Report, the political reality is that there is generally no progress.There is a lack of political, economic and social reforms, which encourages already poor inter-party relations and blockages of institutions. Last year was marked by sharp electoral campaigns and post-election conflicts because the elections were held without the alignment of the Election Law with the ruling of the Constitutional Court."
Picula pointed out that the parliamentary dimension of cooperation with BiH, unfortunately, still does not exist and added that the post-election events in BiH confirm the justified call for respect for the principles of equality, subsidiarity and federalism found in the 2013 reports, which is necessary for BiH complete the transition to an effective, inclusive and fully functional state of guaranteed equality.
"Unfortunately, these key elements were omitted from this year's document. I consider it a serious step backwards", he concluded.
