The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, said that the leaders of the Western Balkan countries at the meeting of the Brdo-Brijuni Process near Kranj in Slovenia confirmed their determination towards the expansion of the European Union in order to ensure the stability of the region.
Pahor emphasized that it is more necessary than ever and that it is a matter of geopolitical interest, and they called for speeding up the accession process, but also for Bosnia and Herzegovina to be granted candidate status for membership in the European Union as soon as possible, by the end of this year if possible, as well as that the EU stands with the countries of the Western Balkans in their struggle against the energy crisis.
He says that during the meeting the commitment to continue the dialogue was emphasized as the only way to overcome all the differences and problems in the relations between the countries.
He reminded that he attended all 11 meetings where there were ups and downs, and last year that meeting was very tiring, but the leaders with caution and understanding managed to finish that meeting successfully.
“There was a lot of mistrust before this meeting, and we realized that there might not be a final conclusion, which would not be good for the countries of the Western Balkans, but now at the end of this meeting, I am grateful that we had open discussions with respect for each other. True, there were disagreements that we put aside because we realized that it is necessary to focus on common aspect,” he emphasized.
Croatian President Zoran Milanović said that his proposal was to devote part of the meeting to the Constitution of BiH in terms of ensuring equal rights of all constituent peoples, but some of the representatives from BiH refused and we left the matter at that.
Answering the question of whether he thinks that Bosnia and Herzegovina will get candidate status by the end of the year, he said that he did not know if that would happen because there is a reservation about it among some EU countries, but he emphasized that it was very indicative that this status was granted to Ukraine but not BiH.
“That was completely immoral and very bad. I have already said it several times, but if I were someone who makes decisions, I would ask that Bosnia and Herzegovina, along with Ukraine, had been granted that status. It is only a symbolic approach, but it was fine for Ukraine, but not for Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Milanović, adding that it will definitely be a political, not an expert decision.
Chairman and members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Šefik Džaferović, Željko Komšić and Milorad Dodik also attended the meeting of the Brdo-Brijuni Process in Brdo near Kranj in Slovenia.
In addition to the members of the BiH Presidency, there were the presidents of Albania, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia.
This year’s meeting was an opportunity to discuss the current situation in the region and for a new call to the members and institutions of the European Union to speed up the enlargement process, according to the announcement of the event.
Meetings at the summit of the Brdo-Brijuni Process have been held since 2013 at the initiative of Croatia and Slovenia. The initiative, by the way, has a habit of hosting officials from countries outside of Southeast Europe, but none have been announced this year.
