‘Economic perspectives of the European integration of BiH’ and ‘Effects of Russian opposition to the expansion of NATO: The case of BiH’ are panels organized today in Sarajevo by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and the Foreign Policy Initiative of BiH.
The author of the analysis on the economic perspective of the European integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Faruk Hadžić, pointed out that the EU represents an economic partner for Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that a faster path and stronger integration with the countries of the Union depends on a stronger level of economic cooperation, primarily through the additional strengthening of direct foreign investments and an increase in foreign trade.
He added that this applies to direct foreign investment, where a higher annual level of investment could lead to a faster growth of the gross domestic product per capita, and thus a faster reaching of the level of 40 percent of the average of the EU countries, which could be enough along with the implementation of other key reforms, to meet the conditions for entry into the EU.
“One of the essential prerequisites for such an activity is certainly the facilitation of procedures for faster and simpler investment and opening of companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” stated Hadžić.
Alija Kožljak, the author of the analysis of the effects of Russian opposition to the expansion of NATO in the case of BiH, said that the Russian Federation uses the weaknesses of the institutions in BiH and the shortcomings of the foreign policy engagement of the ‘West’ to expand its spheres of influence and prevent NATO integration processes.
He believes that today’s complex security environment undoubtedly requires a more comprehensive response to modern multidirectional, both conventional and asymmetric threats.
