FM Stier informs EU ministers of situation in Bosnia

(Hina) - Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Davor Ivo Stier on Monday informed his counterparts in EU member states of his recent visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković

(Hina) - Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Davor Ivo Stier on Monday informed his counterparts in EU member states of his recent visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and informed them of the developments following the arrests in Orašje which followed two days after that visit.

"I informed fellow ministers of Prime Minister Plenković's visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina and of the situation that occurred later in Orašje and of the need to depoliticise the judiciary, that is, to clearly say that every crime has to be punished but also that the judiciary has to be free of any type of pressure and that that should not be used to deter Bosnia and Herzegovina from its Euro-Atlantic pathway," Stier said.

Stier said that after the ten former Croat Bosnian officers were arrested in Orašje, he spoke with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogehirni and European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Police and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn and others and that on Monday he "formally" presented them with the Croatian government's policy toward Bosnia and Herzegovina.

He said that he was pleased that the Croatian government's stance was reflected in a speech by the EU's ambassador to the UN during last week's Security Council discussion of a report by International High Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina Valentin Inzko.

The EU ambassador underscored two things, the depoliticising the judiciary in the context of prosecuting war crimes and the need to protect the equality of all three constituent peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Indeed we support this stance as that is Croatia's stance too, Stier said.

Stier attended an informal working dinner on Sunday night with EU foreign ministers to discuss relations with the USA following Donald Trump's victory at the presidential election.

"The USA is our strategic partner and we wish to develop that cooperation with him. There is no room to jump to negative conclusions, on the contrary, we expect our relations to remain partner-like. Bilaterally too, the USA will remain our ally and within the framework of NATO and we wish to continue fostering that cooperation," Stier said.

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