Members of the Collegium of both Houses of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH PA) spoke with the Croatian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs

 
Members of the Collegium of both Houses of the BiH PA met in Sarajevo with the Croatian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Vesna Pusić, during the Croatian-led initiative to organize a "Breakfast of BiH Friends" during which the progress and further steps that our country intends to take on the road to European Union (EU) membership were discussed.

Emphasizing the important role that Croatia had in the process of the formulation and adoption of the new European initiative for BiH, Mrs. Pusić assessed that the meeting on Monday, which, in addition to BiH Presidency members, was attended by 20 foreign ministers of EU countries, is an extraordinary opportunity to put BiH in the focus of all EU Member States.

According to Mrs. Pusić, BiH has a tremendous opportunity to move forward and this should be used. She added that BiH will have access to all help from friendly Croatia, including professional and technical expertise to assist in negotiations with the EU.

Thanking Mrs. Pusić for her and her country's support, and for Mrs. Pusić's personal role in the creation of a new European initiative for BiH, the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the BiH PA, Šefik Džaferović, stressed that BiH currently needs a decisive role from the international community, responsible authorities and a constructive opposition to stabilize BiH's political situation, in order to unlock the European path and lead to an improved economic and social situation.

Mr. Džaferović said that more and more political factors in our country understand that blocking the European path is damaging, and that moving forward is to the benefit of all in BiH. He further expressed his confidence that the forthcoming meeting of the highest representatives of BiH authorities with EU foreign ministers will yield positive results.

The Speaker of the House of Peoples of the BiH PA, Bariša Čolak, and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Borjana Krišto, also thanked Mrs. Pusić for her visit and support, jointly underlining that, in addition to work on reform and meeting European standards in the field of economy, it is equally important to address the burning political issues in BiH, such as the constitutional equality of the constituent peoples and the issue of amendments to electoral legislation.

The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the BiH PA, Mladen Bosić, welcomed the interest and engagement of Croatia in helping BiH on its European path, pointing out that it is in everyone's interest that neighbouring countries maintain good relations and co-operate both politically and and economically. (End)