The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Elmedin Konaković, today hosted the Minister of European Affairs of the Czech Republic, Martin Dvoržak, after which both of them addressed the media.
For the head of Bosnia and Herzegovina of diplomacy, the arrival of Dvoržak is a message of encouragement and guidance that Bosnia and Herzegovina should use this moment to join the European family. He also said that BiH and the Czech Republic have had good relations for many years.
“BiH and the Czech Republic have open and high-quality relations, I thanked them for their strong expansion policy, but especially towards BiH. Dvoržak is one of the seven signatories of the letter who supported the integration of BiH into the European bloc,” Konaković said.
He then says that he told Dvorak that he expects the EU to show leadership.
“On the other hand, we emphasized the leadership of the EU, we are not looking for shortcuts, but we are looking for understanding and showing the leadership of the EU, which by opening negotiations would send a strong message to the pro-European political parties”, pointed out Konaković and at the same time added that together with Dvořák he remembered Vaclav Havel, a man who, even in the most difficult moments and in moments when courage was needed – was with Bosnia and Herzegovina.
After Konaković, Dvoržak also addressed the media in the atrium of the MFA, emphasizing that the Czech Republic is one of the countries that openly lobbies the EU for the opening of the negotiation process with Bosnia and Herzegovina. But before that, he said that this was his first visit to Sarajevo.
“By the way, I am very glad that I had the opportunity to speak openly with Minister Konaković. This is my first ever visit to Sarajevo. The Czech Republic is a great supporter of EU enlargement and the integration of BiH. As a country that is a friend of the Western Balkans and BiH, we are one of the countries which actively lobbies for the opening of the negotiation process with Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, there is no free lunch in the EU, there are no shortcuts, and that is inevitable,” emphasizes Dvoržak and continues:
“Your authorities, and I hope your public, are well aware of the conditions that are usually summarized in 14 priorities. We cannot break that standard, but we in the EU are aware of the complexity of the Dayton Agreement and the Constitution of BiH, but the criteria for EU membership remain constant “, says Dvorak.
In addition, he adds that he is worried about the various currents circulating in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but says that despite this, he should remain persistent on the European path.
“The Czech Republic also supports the sovereignty and integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We are concerned about some currents that we hear, because of some secessionist statements that are not compatible with commitment to the European path,” the Czech minister points out.
Finally, he said that the Czech Republic will continue to support BiH on its European path.
“We are also aware that you will need the capacity to adopt hundreds of norms and laws, to have efficiency in decision-making. However, the EU will not wait for anyone. The Czech Republic will continue to support the EU, not only with statements, but also very practically,” concludes Dvořák, Klix.ba writes.
