Members of both Houses of the Collegium met with Secretary General of the Council of Europe

 
Members of the Collegium of the House of Representatives and the House of Peoples of the BiH PA, met today with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjorn Jagland, who is on a multi-day visit to see our country's preparations for the upcoming BiH Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

Welcoming the high-level guest, the Chair of the House of Representatives, Šefik Džaferović, stressed that our country will do everything to make its presidency successful, pointing out that the entry into force of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the Presidency of the Council of Europe should be seen as a great opportunity to take a leap forward and overcome years of stalemate on BiH's Euro-Atlantic path.

Mr. Jagland agreed with the assessment that BiH faces huge challenges to its overall advancement wherein, he said, the role of the State Parliament will be of vital importance for creating a better environment for the citizens of BiH. He added that all three development directions (economic reform, the fight against corruption and cross-border crime, and constitutional reform) underlined by the European Initiative and the Joint Statement of the Presidency of BiH carry the same weight. Although listed third, he said, it is important not to ignore constitutional reforms that will contribute to equality and equal rights for all BiH citizens, in which the Council of Europe is particularly interested.

The President of the House of Peoples, Bariša Čolak, said that he hopes that the implementation of several European Court judgments and constitutional reforms could be completed before 2016, another election year. The Deputy Chair of the House of Representatives, Borjana Krišto, noted that the implementation of European Court judgments must be a priority, regardless of the sequence of priorities suggested by the European Initiative and confirmed by the Joint Statement of the Presidency of BiH. (End)