Speaker of the House of Representatives of the PA BiH, Denis Zvizdić PhD, participates in the Conference of Speakers of the Parliaments of the EU Member States in Prague

"Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denis Zvizdić PhD, is taking part in the Conference of Speakers of the Parliaments of the European Union (EU) Member States organized by the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic.

This is the first participation of our country in the Conference of Speakers of the Parliaments of the EU Member States after Bosnia and Herzegovina received the status of a candidate for full membership in the EU in December last year.

The conference is an opportunity for the presidents of the parliaments of EU member states and candidate states for EU membership to discuss current topics and challenges facing the EU.

In the hall of the Czech Senate, Speaker Zvizdić attended a working breakfast for the presidents of the parliaments from the candidate countries for EU membership. In his address to the participants, Zvizdić spoke about the current security situation in the country and emphasized that individuals from the RS entity have again started blocking the work of BiH institutions and endangering the country's constitutional and legal order, which has significantly slowed down Bosnia and Herzegovina's path to the EU. Zvizdić called for preventive action in order to protect territorial integrity, sovereignty and lasting peace.

The conference was opened with a session on Russian aggression against Ukraine and the EU's response within the broader geopolitical context – EU enlargement, energy security and post-war reconstruction.

Speaker Zvizdić said that he is proud of the fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina received candidate status for EU membership in December of last year, at the very time when the Czech Republic presided over the Council of the EU. "We know how much the Czech Republic advocated for such a decision, and I use this opportunity to thank you for that. I am glad that I can also participate in today's conference for the first time with my colleagues from Moldova and Ukraine in the capacity of the speaker of the parliament of a country that has candidate status", said chairman Zvizdić during his address.

He emphasized that Europe's focus is, for a reason, on Ukraine today and said that we should not forget that pro-Russian politicians are also active in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He pointed out that Bosnia and Herzegovina has always been part of the family of European states, not only geographically, given that it is located in the heart of Europe, but also culturally and in terms of identity. "Of course, the candidate status that was granted to us at the end of last year is a small step for the EU, but a big step for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Maybe some destructive politicians didn't deserve it, but the hard-working and honourable citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina certainly did," emphasized Zvizdić.    

The conference will continue tomorrow with a session dedicated to the role of the EU in the global development of democratic processes. Within the framework of this topic, the EU member states' confrontation with the challenges of totalitarian regimes in an environment such as the war on information and disinformation, the security of the food and energy supply chain, and the like will be discussed. (Statement from the Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Denis Zvizdić PhD)