The initiators of today’s Brdo-Brijuni Declaration, the presidents of Slovenia and Croatia, Borut Pahor and Zoran Milanović, will most likely completely withdraw the declaration that should have been adopted.
The reason is the opposition of BiH Presidency members Šefik Džaferović and Željko Komšić to include the term “legitimate representation” in the text of the declaration.
“Legitimate representation of the constituent peoples at all levels of government in BiH is key to the stability of the state, as well as the sincere commitment of all political leaders to the process of electoral reforms in full compliance with EU standards,” the final document should have said, writes Hina.
Questionable adoption of the Declaration at the Brdo-Brijuni summit due to “legitimate representation”
Given that Džaferović and Komšić clearly said that they would not support such a text of the document, Pahor and Milanović will completely withdraw the declaration, after which adoption will not even be considered.
At the meeting in Slovenia, in addition to the three members of the BiH Presidency, the presidents of Slovenia Borut Pahor, Croatia Zoran Milanović, Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, Montenegro Milo Đukanović, Kosovo Vjosa Osmani, North Macedonia Stevo Pendarovski and Albania Bajram Begaj are present.
This is the 11th meeting of regional leaders since the initiation of the Brdo-Brioni process initiative in 2010.
The Brdo-Brijuni Process (Slovene: Proces Brdo-Brijoni) is an annual multilateral event in the Western Balkans. It was initiated in 2013 by Slovenian president Borut Pahor and Croatian president Ivo Josipović. The first official meeting was in Brdo pri Kranju, Slovenia. The main focus of the Process is the enlargement of the European Union with countries of the Western Balkans. Similar meetings were held at the prime-ministerial level in 2010 and 2011 by then-Prime Ministers of Slovenia and Croatia, Borut Pahor and Jadranka Kosor. The Brdo-Brijuni process includes Slovenia and Croatia (EU Member States) and candidates and potential candidates for EU membership from the Western Balkans (Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo).