Diritto Pubblico Comparato ed Europeo

Sommario

1. Introduction. – 2. Definition of Terms. – 3. Federalism in Bosnia and Herzegovina. – 4. Conditionality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. – 5. About the Relationship of Federalism and Conditionality in the Bosnian Context. – 6. Conclusion.

Abstract

Conditionality is an important tool of the European Union (EU), adopted to support the preparation of potential member states for their eventual membership in the Union. In Bosnia and Herzegovina the EU used conditionality not only to support the implementation of the aquis communautaire, but also to effectively build a member state by supporting the State-building process within the country. Conditionality therefore had an extensive effect on both the adoption and development of federalism within Bosnia and Herzegovina, since the EU’s use of this tool influenced both the relationship between central government and sub-State (entity) governments, as well as the relationship between the entities. This paper argues that the use of conditionality to build a EU member state has only been partially successful in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Conditionality did have an impact on federalism and continues to do so, but it was unable to modify the core problems of the Bosnian political system. Thus this paper suggests a differing strategy with which to proceed, centred firstly on ownership and responsibility for the Bosnian elites and secondly on a fully comprehensive integration strategy for the European Union involving all the countries of the Western Balkans.