The authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Kingdom of Sweden signed an agreement today on the implementation of the visa capacity building project, which will help harmonize the visa process of BiH with the legal acquis of the European Union, i.e. Schengen.
In this context, a high-level meeting of the delegations of BiH and Sweden was held today in Sarajevo. The meeting in the building of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly was attended by Minister of Security Nenad Nešić, Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmedin Konaković, Ambassador of Sweden to BiH Helena Lagerlof and Ambassador for Migration and Return of the Swedish Ministry of Affairs Jorgen Lindstrom.
The delegations of the Swedish Migration Agency and the BiH Ministry of Security signed a partnership agreement related to the Visa Capacity Building Project in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The agreement was signed by the Minister of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Director of the Planning Department of the Swedish Migration Agency.
Ministers Konaković and Nešić and Swedish Ambassador Lagerlof also signed a joint statement, and then addressed the journalists.
“At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we have two important challenges. One is to fulfill our obligations from the Stabilization and Association Agreement and harmonize BiH’s positions on crucial issues for the EU, and the European Union places special emphasis on harmonizing our visa policies with European ones. We have made significant strides and only North Macedonia has better results in that area than us in the region,” said Konaković.
He said that Bosnia and Herzegovina has not harmonized its visa policy with the EU regarding five other countries, namely China, Russia, Turkey, Kuwait and Qatar, and added that the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina are taking care not to hurt Bosnia and Herzegovina. economic interests because a large number of tourists and business people come from those countries.
“Another important issue is the issue of illegal migrants, something that affects the security system and the economy of BiH. This topic is important because of the conditions of the European Union, but also because of the safety of our citizens and our economy. In both of these processes, this agreement is significant, which allows us to carry out identity checks more easily, technically, faster and more functionally,” Konaković said.
– Full membership until 2030. –
Minister Nešić also emphasized the importance of today’s signing of the agreement on the visa capacity building project for BiH as a country of the Western Balkans and the transit route for migrants who want to enter the EU.
“During recent years, BiH, like the rest of the region, has experienced increased pressure from migration flows from third countries. In our desire to become a full member of the European Union, BiH is at a turning point in terms of managing these challenges. I often emphasize that we have already shown and proved that we belong to the European Union in these jobs,” said Nešić.
Emphasizing that the project on which the agreement was signed today aims to increase the capacity of BiH and harmonize the visa process in accordance with European standards, Nešić added that it will also help better border control and the fight against illegal migration.
“We will focus on harmonizing our visa policies with European standards. However, I must emphasize that there are internal specificities as well as legitimate political reasons of the constituent nations for the visa policy not to be fully consistent with the requirements from Brussels. That doesn’t mean we take security considerations lightly. We must work with the EU to devise a series of measures that will help their security in cases where visa harmonization is impossible, namely, there are three countries we cannot agree on, namely China, Russia and Turkey,” said Nešić.
He added that the current convocation of the Council of Ministers showed commitment to European integration and that he expects European partners to help BiH become a full member of the European Union by 2030 at the latest.
“I believe that until 2030 we have ways to be patient, but after that I fear that I will become a Eurosceptic myself,” said Nešić.
– An important step, an even more important implementation follows –
Swedish Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Lagerlof stressed that this is another important step forward in the existing cooperation between Sweden and Bosnia and Herzegovina and that it is a natural sequence considering the extremely strong bilateral ties.
“The Swedish government supports BiH’s European path, and with this project we are deepening our cooperation on issues of migration management,” said Lagerlof.
Thanking the relevant BiH authorities for this cooperation, Lagerlof said that an even more important implementation of the agreements signed today will follow.
“I think we can say with certainty that this is a win-win situation for everyone, that is, Sweden and the EU and Bosnia and Herzegovina, because migration is our priority and I believe that we will all benefit from this project, which will also contribute to progress in one area of politics . I believe that we can continue step by step and help Bosnia and Herzegovina on its European path until the year 2030, and even after that. You will lead, and we will continue to provide support,” said Lagerlof, BHRT writes.
Photo: BHRT/Tatjana Rokvić
