Chairman of the Council of Ministers of BiH, Denis Zvizdic, met today in Brussels with European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, with whom he discussed the possibility of including the request of BiH for membership in the European Union on the agenda of the upcoming meeting of the General Affairs Council of the European Union and adoption of the Conclusion of forwarding request of the European Commission for the submission of opinions on the request.
Chairman Zvizdic emphasized that after the adoption of the finalized text of the coordination mechanism for EU questionnaire, BiH met the conditions necessary for consideration of the application at a meeting on the 20th of September. He said that further progress in the EU integration remains in the focus of all levels of government and that BiH is strongly committed to the continuation of the reform process, in order to obtain status of candidate by the end of 2017.
Commissioner Hahn praised the progress of BiH and congratulated Zvizdic on removing the final obstacle for the consideration of applications. He said that it is necessary to continue efforts on the reform process and the strengthening of regional cooperation.
Chairman Zvizdic introduced Commissioner Hahn with the fact that the Council of Ministers of BiH adopted the transport strategy and thus BiH met the condition for access to regional and national EU funds.
They also talked about the current political situation in BiH and about the possibility of the announced referendum in the entity of the RS. Zvizdic and Hahn both agreed that in BiH, as in all other countries, the court’s decision, in particular the decision of the Constitutional Court, which is part of the Constitution, must be respected. Commissioner Hahn especially emphasized that the process of approaching the EU requires a change in behavior of representatives of all levels of government in terms of full respect and improvement of the rule of law.
Chairman Zvizdic said that BiH is committed to preserve the positive momentum of the reform process in order to obtain the status of a candidate for membership by 2017 and that he expects these efforts to be recognized on the 20th of September.
Hahn concluded that he expects at the next session of the General Affairs Council to give the task to the European Commission to start preparing a questionnaire for BiH, towards final membership in the European Union.
(Source: klix.ba)
