The Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina) Borjana Krišto sent a letter to the European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi, in which, among other things, she states that BiH has made visible progress and significant progress, especially in fully harmonizing its foreign policy positions with those of the European Union, improving the rule of law, fighting corruption, strengthening economic stability, and building an inclusive and functional Bosnian society.
“Let me take this opportunity to warmly greet you and once again sincerely thank you for your personal engagement, understanding and continuous support for the European path of BiH. This gives us in Bosnia and Herzegovina hope, additionally motivates us and obliges us to continue our joint dedicated work to achieve permanent stability, democracy and prosperity, and the achievement of our most important foreign policy goal, accession to the European Union,” the letter reads.
Also, Krišto states in the letter that he is turning to the European Commissioner to remind him that they jointly organized and co-chaired the first high-level Political Forum between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Union, on May 17, 2023, in Sarajevo, where political leaders were also present with them. parties in BiH, but also representatives of all levels of government.
The conclusions of the discussions held at the Forum shaped a concrete agenda regarding the fulfillment of the given conditions and chronologically defined 31 priorities on BiH’s European path.
“We clearly pointed out to them the importance of adhering to European standards and undertook to support reforms and strengthen cooperation through the coordination mechanism. It gives me great pleasure to briefly inform you about how we are in the period after this forum at a high level between BiH and the EU have made visible progress and significant progress, especially in fully harmonizing their foreign policy positions with those of the Union, improving the rule of law, fighting corruption, strengthening economic stability, and building an inclusive and functional BiH society. The achieved progress of Bosnia and Herzegovina undoubtedly testifies to our commitment to reforms and European values. It is also the result of our joint cooperation based on mutual understanding and trust,” Kristo points out in the letter.
She stressed that she believes that “our efforts on the reform path and the achieved progress will be recognized and visible in the report of the European Commission, which we expect in the middle of this week”.
“That report will be of crucial importance for our further steps towards European integration, therefore we hope for positive evaluations and recommendations in order to further dynamize our reform process in accordance with the positive results so far, justify the assigned candidate status and open a new chapter on BiH’s path towards the EU by starting pre-accession negotiations for full membership,” the letter reads.
Also, on this occasion, in the context of the fulfillment of 8+1 conditions and the implementation of 31 priorities from the agenda, Krišto once again pointed out the importance of implementing the electoral reform in BiH, which will implement the Decision of the Constitutional Court of BiH on the legitimate representation of the constituent nations, as well as the judgment of the European Court for human rights, which according to the agreement of the political leaders in BiH “should be realized by the end of the year”.
“I believe that the fulfillment of this condition is essential for the further progress and stability of BiH and will ensure the transparency and integrity of the electoral process in our country. Dear Excellency, I will once again emphasize that BiH and all its institutions remain unquestionably committed to the further implementation of reform processes and the fulfillment of 8 +1 conditions, i.e. 14 key priorities that the European Commission has set before us. I use this opportunity, in accordance with the conclusions of the High-Level Dialogue, to ask you to proceed with the continuation of the high-level political forum in accordance with the agreed deadline of six months, i.e. until the end of November, and in Brussels we are organizing the continuation of the dialogue. We in BiH will continue to work tirelessly and do everything in order to achieve our European aspirations, and I am deeply convinced that we will continue to have your support on this path, as well as the help of all our friends from the European Union,” it was stated in the letter, Fena reports.
