Zdenko Ćosić, Chair of the Joint Committee on European Integration of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Meets with Representatives of the EU Delegation, the UN and IOM in BiH

Zdenko Ćosić, Chair of the Joint Committee on European Integration of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (PA BiH), met today with Aurelie Valtat, Head of the Section for European Integration, Political and Economic Affairs at the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Representatives of the United Nations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the International Organization for Migration (IOM), also attended the meeting.

During the discussion on the dynamics of the European integration process, particular focus was placed on the fulfilment of the fifth of the 14 key priorities from the European Commission’s Opinion, which relates to the process of reconciliation and overcoming the legacy of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In this context, representatives of the EU Delegation, the UN and IOM in BiH presented the project “Citizens’ Council”, through which citizens will, through dialogue, propose solutions to institutions for addressing this complex and important issue. Emphasising the significance of this issue and the “Citizens’ Council” project, representatives of the international institutions stated that reconciliation is a cornerstone for long-term stability and social cohesion in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Mr Ćosić expressed his support for the implementation of the “Citizens’ Council” project, stressing that addressing these sensitive issues is not merely a formal obligation on the path towards the EU, but an essential societal need for building trust and strengthening the rule of law. It was emphasised that institutional support for processes of dealing with the past directly contributes to creating a more favourable political environment for overall reforms.

It was mutually agreed that the continuation of reforms is necessary in order to capitalise on the current focus of the EU on enlargement policy, with confirmed readiness for further coordination of activities between the PA BiH, the EU Delegation and UN agencies on priority tasks stemming from the European Commission’s Opinion on Bosnia and Herzegovina. (end)