Croatian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Gordan Grlic Radman, said that questioning the Dayton Agreement would have “catastrophic consequences for peace and security throughout Europe”.
He participated in a panel entitled “Building Trust through Dialogue” at the Prespa Forum international conference in Ohrid. As he told, the consensus within the European Union (EU) that Southeast Europe must join the EU is of historical importance for all its citizens.
Further, he added that there is no magic wand that would solve all the problems that the countries of the Western Balkans have been facing for decades.
“There are disputes and disagreements for which there are different views and attitudes. Nevertheless, it is encouraging that, as a result of the urgent need and traumatic experiences in this region, tools have been developed to resolve issues through dialogue and negotiations,” the Minister stated.
As examples of dialogue and negotiations, the Minister pointed out the 1995 Erdut Agreement, which began the process of peaceful reintegration of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja, and Western Srijem to the Republic of Croatia, and the Dayton-Paris Agreement, which he called “the most important peace agreement signed after World War II”, agreement that has stopped the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and whose Annex 4 guarantees the equality of the three constituent peoples “.
“The importance of the Dayton-Paris Agreement for BiH is still immeasurable and any attempt to change it is unacceptable for the Republic of Croatia. Lately, we have witnessed attempts by some political structures within BiH to question the essence of the Dayton-Paris Agreement. The consequences would be catastrophic for peace and security throughout Europe, ” said the Minister.
He also reffered to the current disagreements between NorthMacedonia and Bulgaria.
“I am still optimistic and hope that these problems will be resolved soon and that accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia will begin during Slovenia’s presidency of the EU Council. We are encouraged by the fact that talks are taking place at the highest political levels. It is a way forward – bilateral dialogue. The European way of solving problems in which compromise is not seen as a sign of weakness. North Macedonia and Bulgaria are friends of the Republic of Croatia with whom we share a common future in the EU, ” he emphasized, Klix.ba writes.
