A hearing was held yesterday in the Foreign Affairs Committee of the US House of Representatives, which was attended by several congressmen, as well as experts on the Western Balkans.

Blockade of decisions

Experts have made recommendations to the future administration led by Joe Biden on what attitudes to take towards our region. It is a meeting at a very high level at which the American congressmen showed a high level of knowledge about our region and about B&H itself, and a great interest in the events in our country.

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, John Hopkins University professor Daniel Serwer and analyst Janusz Bugajski have made recommendations to the new administration for further action in the Balkans.

The hearing was opened by Congressman Eliot Engel, chairman of the Committee. He said that the Dayton Agreement stopped the war, but it created a stalemate. He added that B&H is now an ethnically controlled state that is "stuck" in this situation.

- B&H is frozen, Republic of Srpska is blocking decisions of interest to B&H. This must stop - said Engel.

He added that Biden must ask what comes next, because Dayton is no longer functioning. Albright said that Biden has been engaged in the Balkans since he was a senator.

- I know he understands this region and its importance for the United States. His team is ready to help countries move forward in integration, she said.

Corruption is a big problem, and nationalist leaders use ethnic divisions, she stressed. She added that China and Russia are pursuing their interests in the region.  

- The next administration must develop a new regional strategy. I suggest three elements. The first is close cooperation with the EU. The Balkan countries should be in the EU - she said.

Second, she said corruption must be dealt with. Finally, the US and its allies need to turn to a regional approach and strengthen countries' economic ties with the EU. She stressed the importance of opening a representative office of the International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) in Belgrade. She also said she was concerned about the behavior of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Endangered existence

Serwer said that Dayton today serves the interests of "ethnic looting barons", of which "one is arming his statesman for secession, the other is encouraging him, and the third is complaining".

Bugajski said that constant threats to B&H's integrity must have consequences and penalties, because they limit economic development and foreign investment, encourage interethnic discord, radicalism and threaten the state's survival.

Russian and Chinese influence

Most participants pointed to the importance of constitutional reforms to make B&H a functioning state. Much attention has been paid to Russia's influence in the Balkans, but also to China's growing influence.