Minister of Foreign Affairs of BiH Igor Crnadak commented on the proposal by the European Commission that citizens of countries which are not members of the European Union pay five EUR when entering the Schengen zone and register online before they cross the border.
Crnadak emphasized that, in formal sense, no country which is in the process of accession to the EU can influence the decisions of European institutions.
“I think it will be bad if that decision refers to the countries which are applicants and which are on the path of European integration. I think it will have a bad influence on the development of European Idea in BiH, especially because of the part which refers to the need for electronic registration of everyone who wants to enter the Schengen countries,” said Crnadak.
Ministers of foreign affairs of the region have already discussed this and, although the final decision is on the EU institutions, the idea is that they take a joint stand on Tuesday in Warsaw and appeal for the exemption of Balkan countries from ETIAS.
“I think that BiH and countries of the region have had quite good cooperation with EU institutions when it comes to immigrant crisis, the attempt of prevention of illegal border crossings, and a wide spectrum of activities in the fight against terrorism and organized crime. I think we have shown that we were honest and efficient in that cooperation and in addition to that we are investing great efforts, implementing reforms, and are completely committed to becoming a part of that system,” Crnadak said.
Crnadak believes that such measure would echo negatively in the public of these countries and have a negative political and practical effect, because it would hinder the movement of people.
(Source: klix.ba)
