The granting of candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina is certainly good news, although it is actually a geopolitical expression of the European Union towards the region of the Western Balkans, which is clearly a consequence of Russia’s aggression against neighboring Ukraine, said BiH Presidency member Željko Komšić, Fena news agency writes.
“In other words, it should be clear to all of us that the granting of candidate status is not the result of fulfilling the 14 key priorities from the Opinion of the European Commission, but it is, as I said, a geopolitical move by the European Union. In a psychological sense, it is certainly an incentive and a piece of positive news for the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” assessed Komšić.
On the other hand, he believes, it is a huge responsibility for all political actors in Bosnia and Herzegovina, because the opening of the negotiation process with the European Union will be possible only after fulfilling all 14 key priorities from the Opinion of the European Commission.
“I consider this to be a very important part of the conclusion of the European Council on the granting of candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina, because the previous years were spent in justifying certain political elites, why it could not be done, and even with their intention to show that this kind of Bosnia and Herzegovina with its political system can become a member of the European Union, which according to them would have to lower the criteria, which, to put it briefly, is not true,” says Komšić.
For his part, Komšić states, “as I have repeatedly pointed out, all 14 key priorities are absolutely acceptable, which we tried to show by proposing several laws concerning the fulfillment of some of the 14 key priorities, which other political actors refused.” .
In addition, he points out, the conclusion of the European Council is very significant, in which it very clearly and unequivocally asks Bosnia and Herzegovina to amend all discriminatory provisions in its constitution and a series of laws, and that the full equality of all citizens of BiH must be ensured through the implementation of all judgments of the European human rights court, which is essentially a European standard that cannot be circumvented.
“This kind of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with its ethnic political system and ethnic way of decision-making, with its complicated internal structure and coordination mechanism, cannot even start negotiations, but this country must be fundamentally reformed and brought into line with European standards, so that it is capable enough to opens negotiation chapters,” concluded Komšić.
