Minister Pusić discusses EU ministers’ conclusions on Bosnia

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Vesna Pusić 15 December in Brussels attended a session of the Foreign Affairs Council which, among other things, discussed Bosnia and Herzegovina

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Vesna Pusić 15 December in Brussels attended a session of the Foreign Affairs Council which, among other things, discussed Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The discussion revolved around the proposed conclusions, based on the past discussion as well as a visit to BiH by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and European Commissioner for Regional Policy Johannes Hahn. Their visit followed an initiative for a new approach towards BiH, which would change the order of the steps BiH needed to take to get started on the path of European integration, Pusić explained, adding that the new approach entailed meeting the criteria defined for individual stages of progressing towards membership, i.e. receiving a positive opinion from the European Commission after submitting the application.

Pusić said that under the new approach, the new BiH government is required to commit in writing to reforms necessary for launching the European integration process, which would then have to be endorsed by the parliament. She added that she expected both the government and the opposition to back the document, as both sides support and want the country’s European integration.

"Once the written commitment has been agreed by the BiH Presidency, signed by the BiH political leaders and endorsed by the BiH Parliament, the Council will decide on the entry into force of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement," Pusić said, adding that the SAA could enter into force as early as the beginning of 2015, if all the preconditions were met. “I always said that it was against the interest of BiH, its neighbours and the EU to lower the criteria, but it is also counterproductive if those criteria aren’t met. Therefore, this is a way for those terms to start being fulfilled,” the minister said.

The EU foreign ministers also discussed the practical aspect of the plan for Syria outlined by UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura. The ministers accepted the idea to form the so-called “frozen zones”, but the question remains how to implement and monitor it, as well as how to ensure humanitarian aid. “The European side supports it in terms of cooperation, consultations and the possibility of practical intervention,” Pusić explained. 

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