Bosniaks want to dominate the country, but Croat representatives want to prevent them from turning Bosnia into a centralised state, Bosnia’s Presidency member Dragan Covic said in an interview with the Austrian daily Die Presse. Covic also spoke about Bosnia’s Euro-Atlantic integration process, saying that it had no alternative.

When asked about the connection between the Kosovo solution and the possible secession of the semi-autonomous Republika Srpska entity from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Presidency member from among the Croat people dismissed this option, saying that such a thing would not be possible.

“We should be aware of the fact that some Serb politicians could try to use the Kosovo deal to their advantage and I understand that they’ve disclosed some information to the public, but I don’t think there is a possibility for secession,” Covic responded.

According to the Vecernji list daily, which reported on the interview, Covic was asked how the land-swap deal between Serbia and Kosovo would reflect on his party, the Croat Democratic Union (HDZ BiH), and their ideas of Croat secession from Bosnia.

The idea of a territory exchange between Serbia and Kosovo, which surfaced last month, suggests that Serbia take control of northern Kosovo while giving up the southern Serbian region of Presevo Valley, the centre of Albanian community in Serbia which borders on Kosovo.

“No, there are no such ideas. We, the Bosnia Croats, feel the responsibility towards our country, but we demand a Bosnia which would guarantee equality to all three constituent peoples in the country, Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats,” Covic said. “The Bosniak side wants to dominate and we’re trying to prevent Bosnia from becoming a centralised state.”

Covic also spoke about the fact that Bosnia is a “playground” for international actors such as the EU, US, Russia and Turkey. He said that Serbs often see Russia as their pillar of support, whereas Bosniaks see Turkey as theirs. According to him, the US influence has decreased over the years and the EU is unable to strengthen its influence due to the lack of coordination between its member states.

In spite of this situation, the Presidency member pointed out that Bosnia strives to get the EU candidate status as soon as possible.

He stressed that right after the general election, which will be held on Sunday, October 7, the country should submit the follow-up questions to the European Commission’s Questionnaire.