Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Željka Cvijanović, said that she is a moderate optimist when it comes to the opening of negotiations between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the EU, and assessed that the EU should extend its hand to the countries of the Balkans.
Ahead of tomorrow’s visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy, Antonio Tajani, the Federal Minister for European and International Affairs of Austria, Alexander Schallenberg, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany, Annalena Baerbok, Cvijanović said that so many visits by representatives of European countries show that they are interested in BiH moving towards the European Union. way.
“I think they need to take a rational approach, in contrast to the various depletions we have experienced in the past 20 or more years. This approach must take into account the new geopolitical circumstances. If Europe cares about the Western Balkans being represented in the EU, it has its place and his chair in the EU institutions, decides together with his colleagues on the fate of the continent – then it is important that the EU also changes certain things in its approach,” said Cvijanović.
She pointed out that this increased interest shows that the time has come when everyone is aware of the new circumstances and that everyone wants to see the countries of the Balkans, including BiH, within the EU in a more credible and dedicated way.
Cvijanović reminded the previous positions of various political parties that getting only the green light for negotiations, and not getting a date for negotiations, is not a big deal.
“It is more at the manifestation level because, in order for you to have the right movement in a concrete sense, it implies a whole series of practical, operational, institutional steps, an intergovernmental conference and other things that should be scheduled in order to start forming negotiating groups, determining the main negotiator, defining the way negotiating positions are defined,” said Cvijanović for RTRS.
She said it remains to be seen if it will be that serious.
“Either it will just be a green light or the EU will remain trapped with itself like this, without the awareness that it should extend its hand to the Western Balkans. We will see,” said Cvijanović, Srna news agency writes.