European Commissioner for Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi met today in Zagreb with Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman.
Varhelyi pointed out that the talks on Bosnia and Herzegovina were particularly tense and difficult, given that the date of the elections in that country is approaching without an agreement, which, according to him, will affect the political situation within the country.
“We have seen and agreed that at least one key year in the life of BiH has been missed, 2021 could and should have been the year for things to be arranged for the future of BiH. It was a year without elections in sight, a year when progress in legislative reform could be made. We have missed that and we are already seeing the consequences, and that is the situation without progress in the 14 main priorities on the path of BiH towards the status of a candidate for membership. Along with peace and stability, a more constructive internal political situation in BiH is needed in order for this country to face challenges in the future,” said Varhelyi.
The key point
He welcomed BiH’s activities on a common foreign and security policy in the run-up to Russia’s war in Ukraine, but stressed that there has been no progress within the country in implementing reforms.
”It is a great disappointment that we do not have an agreement on constitutional and electoral framework reforms. We will have elections in BiH in October, so we will strive, in cooperation with our friends in BiH, to make these elections free, fair and to lead us towards equal representation of all three constituent peoples. This is a key point of BiH’s long-term stability and functionality. The boycott and non-recognition of the election results will not take us anywhere,” he said.
Grlic Radman said that Croatia strongly supports it
the European perspective of the Western Balkans and the continuation of enlargement according to an individual approach and the principle of one’s own merits, applying the existing criteria and conditions for enlargement.
Ongoing negotiations
“Croatia supports the ongoing negotiations between Montenegro and Serbia with the European Union, the opening of accession negotiations with Albania and Northern Macedonia, as well as granting candidate status for Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European perspective for Kosovo ,” said Grlic Radman and continued:
“The situation in BiH is worrying. The key remains in amending the Election Law. The engagement of the EU and the United States in the continuation of negotiations is needed in order to enable free, fair, legal and legitimate elections. Elections according to this election law are not constitutional,” said Grlic Radman, Avaz writes.
