The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen arrived to visit Bosnia and Herzegovina today. From the Sarajevo airport, she headed straight for Donja Jablanica, which suffered great damage, as well as human losses, during the catastrophic floods that hit this place.
“I’ve been here 20 days after the disaster and it’s still heartbreaking to see this devastation, the destruction here in this area. First and foremost, my thoughts are with the victims, the families and friends they left behind. What a horrible experience. I heard the disaster started in the middle of the night. People had no chance to escape the destruction. I wanted to say, Europe is with you. Europe stands with you. We are here, not only in the short term, but also in the medium and long term, to help you first and foremost. Of course, let’s help right away. Second, reconstruct and rebuild after a disaster. I repeat, we will be with you. You are friends and partners, your country is a candidate for membership in the European Union. You saw that the civil protection mechanism was immediately activated. I am glad to see volunteers and also soldiers from different nations who are here with all their tools to support and help those who are here in need. Thank you very much for hosting me here today. It was very important for me to see with my own eyes what happened and how the floods destroyed this area. So let me assure you, we are on your side and Europe is with you,” Von der Leyen said, according to N1.
In Donja Jablanica are also the chairperson of the Council of Ministers of BiH Borjana Krišto, the Prime Minister of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton Marija Buhač, the Minister of Trade, Tourism and Environmental Protection and the head of the International Operations Base of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton Emil Balavac, the mayors of Jablanica, Konjic, Kreševo, Fojnica and Kiseljak, as well as representatives of rescue forces.
