The President of the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the leader of the SDP BiH, Nermin Nikšić, assessed that a positive response from the European Union can be expected for the opening of accession negotiations with BiH, and pointed out that in the process of European integration, no one has gained or lost anything, but the only winners will be if the negotiations they begin to be citizens.
Nikšić emphasized that there is a right to be optimistic, judging by all the signals from the EU, by the diplomatic offensive in the form of numerous important delegations that visited BiH, “and especially by the positive report of the European Commission and the recommendation to open negotiations with BiH”.
According to him, Bosnia and Herzegovina is moving forward due to the adoption of laws that have been pending for years, and the initiation of reforms that will ensure a better life.
“After ten years of negative reports on BiH’s progress, the EU does not hide its satisfaction that I can finally write that progress is visible and that more has been achieved in one year than in the previous ten,” Nikšić wrote on “Facebook”.
Nikšić considers important the conversation and agreement with the partners in the government, which enabled the adoption of important laws, which, according to him, should remain in force, regardless of the EU’s decision.
He also pointed out that the politicians in BiH still have a lot of work to do, but also that they do not intend to stop until they provide citizens with quality living conditions.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of BiH Elmedin Konaković, the day before the session of the European Council in Brussels, where it is decided to open accession negotiations with BiH, is a moderate optimist, and points out that we should not be afraid of what some call “additional conditions”.
“Things on the ground are going well. With, of course, the possibility that, possibly due to some political reasons, there will be additional discussions tomorrow, or that some countries that have a slightly more conservative approach to expansion may set some other conditions,” Konaković said.
He expressed the hope that the recommendation of the European Commission will be respected, stating that BiH will then, as he said, essentially be the “champion of the European integration of the region”.
“If BiH gets the green light tomorrow, we have the right to be truly proud because we have gone from being the country that lagged behind the most in the segment of European integration to becoming the country that went the fastest from the date of obtaining candidate status to the date of the opening of negotiations,” added Konaković, who is also the leader People and Justice parties, Srna news agency writes.