Chair of the Joint Committee for European Integration of the PA BiH Zdenko Ćosić addressed the participants of the COSAC plenary session in Stockholm.

Chair of the Joint Committee for European Integration of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (PA BiH), Zdenko Ćosić, addressed the participants of the regular plenary session of the Conference of Parliamentary Committees on European Union Affairs (COSAC), held in Stockholm under the Swedish presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU).

 "It is an exceptional honour and pleasure to participate, for the first time after BiH was granted candidate status in December 2022, in the work of the COSAC plenum, which takes place under the auspices of the Swedish EU presidency.

This is especially important for BiH because it has become institutionally closer to the EU, as well as to the member states. We are aware of the possibilities that candidate status provides, especially the unique opportunity for Bosnia and Herzegovina to become a participant in democratic forums like this one, a user of all its accompanying instruments and processes.

We would like to congratulate the Swedish Presidency for its choice of priorities, excellent organization, and great hospitality. Although enlargement is not explicitly positioned as one of the priorities, it is a latent topic of foremost importance for all of us. Namely, integration processes are tied to the strategic imperative of permanent and sustainable consolidation of the EU in the political, security, but also in the economic sense. In this regard, political and economic unity are equally important and complement each other. Therefore, regardless of individually selected and undoubtedly significant priorities, enlargement based on merit and a fair approach remains an important contribution to European unity, both in the sphere of building and strengthening the single market and in the field of systemic political convergence and strengthening of unity. We are looking forward to participating in these processes and on this occasion, we plead for the opening of negotiations on the membership of BiH in the EU as soon as possible, as the next crucial step in the process of economic, political and security integration of BiH into the EU," said Ćosić.

In addition to the Chair of the Joint Committee for European Integration of the PA BiH, Zdenko Ćosić, the Deputy Chair of the Joint Committee Dženan Đonlagić and member of the Joint Committee Snježana Novaković – Bursać also participate in the COSAC plenary session in Stockholm. (end)