Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Josip Brkic, participated in the International Conference “Dubrovnik Forum 2022” entitled “A Quest for Balance in a Disrupted World”, which was held on July 8 and 9.
The focus of the fifteenth edition of the forum, which gathered high officials of the EU, EU member states and the region, was the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its global impact, primarily on geopolitical relations and the world economy.
Deputy Minister Brkic participated in the forum on the panel entitled “Decision time in Europe’s “Soft underbelly”…and beyond” where opinions were exchanged about the possible consequences of Russian aggression against Ukraine on the countries of Southeast Europe and the importance of EU enlargement.
In his address, Brkic welcomed the fact that the leaders of the EU member states granted candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova and the European perspective to Georgia, but that Bosnia and Herzegovina was disappointed by the absence of a decision for Bosnia and Herzegovina, which did not reach a consensus in the Council of the EU, given that it is about a political decision, the consequences of which are borne by the inhabitants of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He emphasized that by not granting candidate status, the possibility of a stronger influence of third parties is opened up, thereby strengthening unitarist and separatist ideologies within Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is against the spirit of the Dayton Peace Agreement, which implies one state, two entities and three constituent peoples, with equal protection of the rights of all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He reiterated once again that for Bosnia and Herzegovina there is no viable alternative to EU and NATO integration, because that is the only way for stability, progress and peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the entire region of Southeast Europe. He assessed that in these challenging moments for Bosnia and Herzegovina, the political voices of united Europe must be much louder and more engaged in order to cut through the noise of incendiary rhetoric, radicalization and hate speech.
On the sidelines of the forum, Deputy Minister Brkic met, in separate meetings, with the Chief Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the Ministry of European and International Affairs of the Republic of Austria, Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal, and the State Secretary of the Republic of Portugal, Tiago Antunes, with whom they discussed the countries’ bilateral relations as well as the political situation. in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
