Members of the Collegium of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina in two-day visit to Hungary

The delegation of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, led by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mladen Bosić, and Deputy Speakers Šefik Džaferović and Borjana Krišto, at the beginning of the two-day official working visit to Hungary, spoke in Budapest today, in separate meetings, with the host, President of the National Assembly of Hungary, László Kövér and Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó.

On this occasion, the Speaker Mladen Bosić and the President of the Hungarian Parliament have signed the Protocol on cooperation between the parliaments of two countries and have expressed the expectation that, in the coming period, the business, economic and cultural cooperation between two friendly countries will be improved.

“Hungary is a friendly country with which BiH has good relations, but we believe that they can be further improved, especially in economic field. We agreed that the direct airline to Budapest will be re-established already in the spring, and that 50 our students each year shall be entitled to scholarships and free studies at Hungarian universities. In the next period, Hungary and other countries of the Višegrad Group will provide a strong contribution to a faster process of European integration of the Western Balkans countries, which is very important for us because the membership in the European Union would resolve many internal problems of Bosnia and Herzegovina" said the Speaker Mladen Bosić during the talk with the President of the Parliament of Hungary.

The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, Borjana  Krišto, pointed out that it is necessary to implement the constitutional reforms in order that Bosnia and Herzegovina could become a member of the European Union. - I think that the Dayton Constitution has many limitations, that it is an obstacle to more rapid progress and to the process of the Euro-Atlantic integrations. All new members of the European Union have changed their Constitutions before their membership, Bosnia and Herzegovina should also reach a consensus and adopt a new constitutional solutions that would continue to protect the equality of all three constituent peoples and all citizens. The fulfilling the requirements of the European Union through answering the questions from the questionnaire will make a significant step in resolving outstanding issues within BiH but also at international level, - said Ms. Krišto.

The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the PA BiH Šefik Džaferović has expressed his gratitude to the President László Kövér for Hungarian support to the strengthening of legislative institutions in the framework of the Twinning project. - Hungary strongly supports Bosnia and Herzegovina on its path to the European Union, but for us it is especially important the further improvement of the work of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina that Hungary supported through the Twinning project which should soon be continued. Also, I want to say that, despite the launch of the direct flight to Budapest, we expect to restore the direct rail transport and to complete the construction of the 5C Corridor that would connect central Europe with the Mediterranean.

The President of the Hungarian Parliament László Kövér has emphasized that for countries, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, is very important that three constituent peoples reach a compromise on key issues, and that Hungary strongly supports the membership of all countries from the region in the European Union.

The members of the Collegium have officially invited President Kövér to visit Bosnia and Herzegovina next year.

Tomorrow is scheduled the meeting between members of our delegation with the Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister Zoltan Semjen. (end)