Members of the PA BiH Joint Committee on European Integration talked with the European Parliament rapporteur for Bosnia and Herzegovina

Chair of the Joint Committee on European Integration of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (PA BiH) Nikola Lovrinović, Deputy Chair Nermina Kapetanović and members of this body Aleksandra Pandurević, Lilja Zovko, Zdenka Džambas and Halid Genjac, talked today with the rapporteur of the European Parliament (EP) for Bosnia and Herzegovina Cristian Dan Preda about the Draft Report on the Report of the European Commission on Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2016.

European Parliament rapporteur for Bosnia and Herzegovina informed the members of the Joint Committee that 288 amendments were lodged to the draft report and that the compromise was found for 151 amendment. He reported that the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament will consider the draft report next Monday, and then forward it to the European Parliament with adopted amendments.

Mr. Cristian Dan Preda emphasized that, given the number and substance of the amendments lodged to the draft report, the aim of the European Parliament is to primarily implement socio - economic reforms in BiH through them because they are, he said, a condition for other reforms to be implemented as well, which are necessary to meet the requirements for membership in the European Union.

According to the European Parliament rapporteur, when amendments interfere with the internal affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the fact is that every MEP has the right to lodge the amendments, but in the end, it is the European Parliament will assess what will be written in the European Commission Report on Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2016. As he said, MEPs do not want, and they have no desires to solve the internal issues in BiH, that is entirely the matter of agreement among local political actors.

In order to solve issues in the best possible way when it comes to the European path of our country, Cristian Dan Preda said that the Parliamentary Committee for Stabilisation and Association between the PABiH and the European Parliament (SAPC) must adopt the Rules of Procedure as soon as possible. It is necessary to have a body through which we can communicate, and not to discuss problems only when the European officials visit BiH, said Cristian Dan Preda.

Chairman of the PABiH Joint Committee on European Integration Nikola Lovrinović informed the EP rapporteur for Bosnia and Herzegovina that the Parliamentary Committee has sent proposals for Rules of Procedure to EP members of this body. Bearing in mind the suggestions made by the Members of the European Parliament, Mr. Lovrinović expressed his hope that the Rules of Procedure of the Parliamentary Committee will be adopted in the shortest time possible.

Members of the Joint Committee briefed Mr. Cristian Dan Preda about their positions on the draft report and lodged amendments and expressed hope that the final report will contribute to the solution of many issues in BiH, as well as to its accelerated path towards EU membership. (End)