Croatian Minister of Foreign Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman believes that Bosnia and Herzegovina could speed up its progress towards membership in the European Union by the end of this year.
He expects that the President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik and other political figures, primarily officials of Republika Srpska, will help maintain political stability in the nation.
During his visit to Livno, Grlić Radman met with Borjana Krišto, the chairperson of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with whom he discussed the implementation of changes necessary for the continuation of the country’s EU integration process.
“We expect all relevant political factors to speed up BiH’s European path by the end of the year. The continuation of Euro-Atlantic integration is key for a stable and functional Bosnia and Herzegovina. It will have the full support of the Croatian Government,” Grlić Radman pointed out.
Recently, the two governments reached an agreement on the framework of cooperation during the European path of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the minister reminds.
“An indispensable part of the reforms on the way to the European Union is the amendment of the Electoral Law and limited constitutional changes so that Croats will finally have their legitimate political representative at all levels of government, which is guaranteed by the Washington and Dayton Agreements and the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Grlić Radman said.
He explains that this includes the elimination of all forms of discrimination within the electoral process, in line with the decision of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Ljubić case and with several judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, the most famous of which is the Sejdić-Finci judgment.
He added that he expects Dodik to adopt a constructive attitude towards the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“We expect all political actors to contribute to the political stability and functionality of BiH, given the extremely difficult geopolitical circumstances caused by the Russian aggression against Ukraine,” said Minister Grlić Radman.
Grlić Radman also met with representatives of the Croatian community in Bugojno, and the meeting was led by Miroslav Zelić, the president of the city council of that city.
