European Commissioner for Enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi addressed the European Commission yesterday at the European Council on Foreign Affairs, commenting on the current situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
Among other things, Varhelyi explained that 2021 was “lost” for BiH and that the state had not done much to address 14 key priorities on the road to the European Union (EU).
“Constitutional and electoral reform is being worked on to ensure equal representation of all citizens, but a solution is still not there. We need to solve this problem urgently. Second, the country needs fully functioning state institutions to benefit from the EU agenda when it comes to reforms and implementation of the Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans, ” explained Varhelyi.
Also, the commissioner stressed that the citizens of BiH would directly benefit from this plan. In addition, Varhelyi stated that during the meeting he pointed out the blockade of the institutions of BiH.
“Late last year, I warned political leaders that without fully functioning institutions, the country risks losing large investments. I called on the representatives of the Republika Srpska (RS) to fully return to state institutions,” the commissioner told.
Finally, he noted that the European Commission will stipulatethe payment of money to BiH for important projects and that this condition refers to the return of RS officials to the institutions.
“The European Commission has received requests for EUsupport for the Corridor 5C project, including two projects located in RS. Agreements for the two projects amount to 600million euros, but the money will be paid only after state institutions become operational,” Varhelyi concluded.
E.Dz.
Source: Klix.ba
