European Union Special Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina Peter Sørensen said that path of BiH to EU is the path of partnership, and it is high time that BiH takes the responsibility for the decisive step towards the EU by making the European integration a national priority.
”There is an urgent need for the political elite of BiH to take the responsibility for the next step of BiH towards the EU, and BiH must implement The Stabilisation and Association Agreement, if BiH wants to submit a credible request for membership. Two conditions for that are: the implementation of the Sejdic-Finci ruling with the aim of harmonizing the Constitution of BiH with the European Convention of Human Rights and also, BiH must create coordination mechanisms that will allow BiH to talk with one voice about the European issues.EU is committed to support BiH path to the EU’’, said Sørensen to European Education Centre.
He added that in the last year a significant progress of some countries of the Balkans towards the EU was made, and BiH place is in the EU.
”We are similar in that both the EU and BiH are ethnically, culturally, historically and religiously diverse, and the only logical thing for BiH is to become a part of the EU. Even when the EU is faced with the challenges of the global financial crisis, that produce uncertainty, I firmly believe that the EU should look back and see the benefits it has brought to the citizens of the EU, who now enjoy peace, democracy and the respect of human rights, and I believe that citizens of BiH also want that”, said Sørensen.
