Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dr Denis Zvizdić, is participating in the Conference of Speakers of the EU Parliaments, taking place in Budapest

"Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (PABiH), Dr Denis Zvizdić, is participating in the Conference of Speakers of the Parliaments of the European Union (EU), held in Budapest under the title “The Future of Europe.”

The conference brings together speakers of the parliaments of EU member states, as well as representatives of candidate and partner countries, with the aim of discussing key challenges and perspectives of European integration, strengthening cooperation, and ensuring shared stability and development.

Throughout the two-day event, participants will address the general prospects and challenges facing Europe, as well as regionalism in Europe and the preservation of the European cultural identity within the European area.

As part of the panel discussion, Speaker Zvizdić addressed the participants, emphasising the importance of regional cooperation, the European perspective of the Western Balkans, and the need for a more intensive dialogue to strengthen institutional stability and accelerate Bosnia and Herzegovina’s European path.

“It is clear that the EU is not and will not be complete without the Western Balkans. Bosnia and Herzegovina, geographically, culturally, economically and politically, belongs to Europe, which is why European integration, along with NATO integration, represents one of the two most important foreign policy objectives of my country, Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Speaker Zvizdić during his address.

He also spoke about unconstitutional developments in the Republika Srpska (RS) entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, stressing that the National Assembly of the RS entity adopted, several months ago, a set of laws banning the functioning of state judicial institutions and bodies in the territory of the RS entity and establishing a completely separate entity-level judiciary. This, he noted, represents an attempt to dismantle the constitutional order and to create a parallel legal system within a sovereign and internationally recognised state.

“Imagine a region or province in your own country deciding to ban the operation of state judiciary on its territory, and then adopting a constitution which envisages joining in a confederation with a neighbouring country. The question is – how would you interpret such an act? Most certainly as an attempted coup d’état and an attack on your constitutional order. This is exactly what is happening right now in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Zvizdić, calling on the EU to safeguard the European perspective of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He emphasised: “If the EU remains passive, there is a serious risk of peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina being endangered. Without peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, there will be no peace in the Balkans, and without peace in the Balkans, there will be no peace in Europe.”

On the margins of the Conference, Speaker Zvizdić also held meetings with representatives of other European parliaments in order to further enhance cooperation and exchange experiences in areas of mutual interest. (Statement issued by the Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dr Denis Zvizdić)

The statement of Speaker Zvizdić’s address is available here.