The Director General for Europe at the European Union’s External Affairs Service (EEAS) Angelina Eichhorst said today in Sarajevo that Bosnia and Herzegovina must take seriously the tasks it must perform in order to be able to open accession negotiations with the European Union, which includes the adoption of at least three laws until March, as well as the beginning of negotiations with FRONTEX.
Following the decision of the European Council in December 2023 to start accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina when the required degree of compliance with membership requirements is achieved, Eichhorst used the meetings to ask representatives of the executive and legislative authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina for progress in reforms, considering that the Commission submits its progress report to the European Council no later than March 2024.
After today’s meeting with the political directors of the countries of the Western Balkans and the EU, Eichhorst said that they discussed important topics with their partners in order to deepen and strengthen mutual dialogue and coordination in the context of the European Union’s common foreign policy and defense.
“It was a short visit, but very productive. Yesterday I met with the members of the BiH Presidency. In the talks, we discussed what are the next steps that must be taken in this significant momentum that is very much present. This is an opportunity that requires mobilizing and activate all forces and everyone is engaged in completing tasks literally 24 hours a day,” said Eichhorst.
Speaking about the priorities that BiH should fulfill by March, Eichhorst said that they want to see progress from the EU in fulfilling several key conditions.
“The March session of the European Council is extremely important for Bosnia and Herzegovina. I cannot say what the outcome will be at this moment, nor do I know. We know what the tasks are. First of all, it is the beginning of negotiations with FRONTEX, the adoption of legislation, we emphasize that the law on prevention of money laundering and financing of terrorism, the law on conflicts of interest and the law on courts. I call it one plus three conditions. I mentioned the elections, preparations need to be made in order to have an adequate electoral process. I was a direct participant in the negotiations on the electoral law in Neumu. Everyone knows very well what needs to be done in terms of improving the electoral process,” said Eichhorst.
Speaking about the security situation in BiH, Eichhorst said that this country is in a good position thanks to the presence of EUFOR forces through Operation Althea.
“Thanks to their positioning they have the ability to make good security assessments. The EU relies on the assessments of EUFOR and our individual member states. Last week you had a visit from the NAC and I am not trying to minimize any threat that is present. Such threats are unfortunately louder and more present in the public and media space than those who want to fulfill the necessary tasks. As for risks, our assessment is that Bosnia and Herzegovina is a safe and secure environment and I hope it will remain so,” said Eichhorst.
Eichhorst, on behalf of Deputy Secretary General for Political Affairs Enrique Mora, co-chaired the tenth meeting of six political directors of the Western Balkan countries and the EU, hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
This forum brings together senior officials from the ministries of foreign affairs of the Western Balkan countries and the European External Action Service to discuss current foreign policy issues and ways to solve them together.
BiH Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Josip Brkić said after the meeting that they want to harmonize positions with the European Union on many topics.
“These are topics that are important to us, and that is alignment with the foreign, security and defense policy of the EU. We also considered the positions of the countries of South-Eastern Europe and the EU vis-à-vis third countries. The special focus was on the continuation of Russian aggression against Ukraine and what is the impact of that fact on the countries of the region and Europe”, said Brkić, adding that they also discussed the role of China in the region and the situation in the Middle East, with a focus on relations between Israel and Palestine.
He pointed out that “one hundred percent alignment of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the foreign and security policy of the EU” was positively assessed.
Eichhorst also met with the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmedin Konaković, and a meeting with EUFOR Commander Major General Laszlo Sticz was announced for today, AA writes.
