The European Union (EU) is united in its response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has adopted comprehensive measures. It is asking Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) to align its policy with that of the Union.
”We expect BiH, as a candidate country, to fully harmonize its foreign, security, and trade policies with those of the EU,” stated the EU Delegation.
The Delegation said that for the proper functioning of the visa-free regime with the EU, BiH is expected to fully comply with the visa policy of the Union, which does not provide for a visa-free regime with Russia.
The Embassy of the Russian Federation in BiH pointed out, regarding the EU’s request that BiH introduces visas for Russian citizens, that ”one gets the impression that the EU is placing excessive demands on BiH”.
They stated that the visa-free regime agreement, which provides favorable conditions for the development of relations between Russia and BiH, is currently in force.
In the conclusions of the European Council from December last year, in which BiH was granted the status of a candidate for the EU, the need to harmonize the visa regime with the EU and the application of restrictive measures are mentioned.
E.Dz.
