SCHMIDT LEAVES BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA: „I am leaving reluctantly, I will not reveal if the Americans asked me to leave“

The outgoing High Representative in BiH, Christian Schmidt, spoke openly for the first time about the reasons for his resignation in an interview for FACE TV.

In an interview for FACE TV and “Centralne vesti sa Senadom Hadžifejzovićem”, the outgoing High Representative in BiH, Christian Schmidt, spoke openly for the first time about the reasons for his resignation, the pressure from the international community, relations with the Americans, and future decisions that await Bosnia and Herzegovina.

He revealed that serious discussions were held within the PIC regarding his departure, spoke about state property, the Southern Interconnection, and warned of the key challenges that will follow after his mandate.

– There is no right moment to leave, and that is why I am leaving reluctantly. I still have a lot to do, but I see that we have prepared well for the elections in October… I decided then, not alone, there were discussions within the PIC – Schmidt said.

When asked whether the Americans asked him to leave, he did not answer directly.

– Of course we talked about everything. I spoke not only with them, but also with them. The situation is not the same as it was three or four years ago. I cannot give you any names! – Schmidt said.

When asked what the reason was, or what he did not want to do or sign, he replied: “Nothing”.

– Did someone expect something else, and they didn’t tell me? No one told me to do something that I didn’t do, or that they prevented me from doing something. Nothing, there is nothing like that – Schmidt said.

He said he was not threatened with the “blacklist”.

– We talked about how to proceed further in BiH. In the coming period, some decisions will have to be made. State property, yes. Whoever builds a pipeline builds it on state land. Therefore, there must be some regulation. The Federation has adopted the Law on the Southern Interconnection, and the Agreement with Croatia confirms that legal certainty must be ensured. This must be decided at the state level, and I am interested to see how things will be resolved. I think it is a pity that the Europeans did not participate in the financing of this interconnection. The Americans created the momentum. This is a criticism of the Europeans. I applaud the project – Schmidt said.

He said that further work must be done by local authorities.

– The law is unusual because it names the company that will build the pipeline. Those who made the decision, I assume, secured it legally. The question is who will finance it further… we have to make sure that it does not become too expensive for consumers later – Schmidt said.

He also said that Germany now has energy that is too expensive.