C 47/94
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
7.2.2023
Wednesday 6 July 2022
23.
Encourages the authorities to intensify cooperation and data sharing on missing persons and to ensure redress and guarantees of non-repetition for the families of civilian victims, and the safe and sustainable return of refugees and internally displaced people, the full respect of their rights and the return of their property or compensation for non-returnable property, both at national and regional level;
24.
Welcomes the efforts by local and international organisations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, to account for over 30 000 persons who went missing during the conflicts in the territory of the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s and more than 8 000 Srebrenica genocide victims; recalls that 7 200 people are still missing;
25.
Welcomes and supports the amendments to the BiH Criminal Code enacted by the High Representative outlawing the glorification of war criminals and the denial of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, following the failure of local actors to adopt a proposal; deplores and rejects any attempt not to implement this decision; strongly condemns all forms of historical revisionism, denial, or minimisation or glorification of war crimes including non-compliance with decisions of international and domestic tribunals; calls for the swift implementation of the amendments and effective investigation and prosecution of genocide denial;
26.
Reiterates that the denial of genocide, celebrating war crimes and war criminals and threatening regional stability and reconciliation are contrary to European values and aspirations; against this background, strongly condemns the inflammatory events on the occasion of the so-called ‘RS day’ on 9 January 2022, in violation of the BiH constitution; also condemns the desecration of the Partisan Memorial Cemetery in Mostar and calls on the authorities to thoroughly investigate it and to bring the perpetrators to justice;
Reform process
27.
Urges BiH’s political actors to make progress on judicial, electoral, administrative and economic reforms that are needed to bring the country closer to the EU, and to include civil society in the process; denounces all attempts to stall these reforms, thus slowing BiH’s compliance with EU accession criteria and endangering access to EU funding under IPA III, which must be based on strict conditionality and depends on the cooperation of different authorities;
28.
Stresses that IPA III funding must be modulated or even suspended in the event of a significant regression or persistent lack of progress in the area of the rule of law and fundamental rights, including the fight against corruption and organised crime, as well as media freedom, and calls on the Commission to develop guidelines on its application, as per the recommendations of the European Court of Auditors Special Report 01/2022; calls in this context on the EU and the Western Balkan countries to establish a framework for effective cooperation with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office;
29.
Welcomes the recent suspension of Corridor Vc projects in the RS entity worth EUR 600 million, and recalls that these funds will be allocated only after RS representatives completely return to state institutions; calls for a thorough reconsideration and scrutiny of all EU-funded projects and assistance applicable to and within the RS entity, including macro-financial assistance, with a view to freezing direct and indirect funding benefiting its authorities; notes that the German Government has decided to suspend four infrastructure projects in the RS entity worth EUR 105 million;
30.
Deeply regrets the damage and loss of lives caused by a powerful earthquake near Stolac on 22 April 2022;
31.
Recalls the significance of respecting the democratic principle of regular elections; stresses the importance of holding fair, open, transparent and inclusive elections in 2022 as scheduled, and urges all political actors to refrain from calling for a blockade of the elections, and to allow citizens to express their democratic choice; calls for timely parliamentary approval of election integrity legislation; recalls and regrets the fact that due to the adoption of the state budget being continuously delayed, electoral funds were not secured on time; stresses that the holding credible elections and implementing the results is a key feature of a well-functioning democracy, as well as a requirement for any country wishing to join the EU; welcomes the decision of 7 June 2022 by the OHR to make full use of its mandate in order to ensure Bosnian citizens’ fundamental political rights to free and fair elections, through the adoption of the necessary budget, since the national authorities failed to do so;