What was supposed to be a quick vote earlier today turned into agony and a marathon wait. To recall, a recess was requested as early as 2:30 PM, and the session was blocked for hours because the ruling majority, as confirmed at the time by SDP representative Damir Maลกiฤ‡, was waiting for the FBiH Government to submit an amendment to this controversial law at the last moment.

The representatives were "in the dark," with no information about what the Government was trying to change behind closed doors or what kind of text was being drafted.

However, the amendment was ultimately abandoned, and the representatives will have to vote on the law in the form in which it was originally submitted for urgent procedure.

Federal Minister of Energy, Mining, and Industry Vedran Lakiฤ‡ addressed the representatives, explaining the background of the multi-hour recess and the reasons why the FBiH Government withdrew the announced amendment at the last moment.

As the minister stated, the sensitive issue of state property was at the center of the multi-hour negotiations.

"We had a dilemma regarding state property. Our intention was to make one amendment and definitively remove all doubts about it. We wanted to write a clause that would clearly define that nothing in this law may contradict the documents on state property," Lakiฤ‡ explained.

However, the Government ultimately decided to "pull the handbrake" and leave the law in its original form.

"We abandoned that proposal, thinking that we would not change anything from what we had previously agreed upon," emphasized the minister, with a promise that the entire process related to this project "will be transparent from now on."

The Government's withdrawal means that the representatives will consider a text that envisions the introduction of an American investor, the company AAFS Infrastructure and Energy d.o.o. from Sarajevo, and the exclusion of the domestic company "BH Gas" from the Southern Interconnection project.

The Aarhus Center and CEE Bankwatch Network had previously warned that the law should be urgently withdrawn because it is unconstitutional and opens the door for favoritism toward an inexperienced investor, whose only known reference is political connections with the Donald Trump administration.

If the proposal receives the green light today, the final word will be given by the House of Peoples of the FBiH Parliament, whose session on this topic is scheduled in seven days.