Stier: Croatia and Hungary vitally interested in Bosnia's stability

(Hina) - Croatia, together with Hungary, is vitally interested in the preservation of stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the two countries will do their best to assist in that, Croatian Foreign Minister Davor Ivo Stier said in Sarajevo

(Hina) - Croatia, together with Hungary, is vitally interested in the preservation of stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the two countries will do their best to assist in that, Croatian Foreign Minister Davor Ivo Stier said in Sarajevo on Thursday.

Stier arrived in the Bosnian capital with his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto at a time when the country is shaken by a deep political crisis triggered by the launching of a procedure for a review of an International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling from 2007 which cleared Serbia of responsibility for genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

That step has caused harsh verbal conflicts between Bosniak and Serb officials and slowed down the implementation of a plan for economic and social reforms, adopted on Croatia's initiative in late 2015.

Officials in Bosnia and Herzegovina hope the country could be given the status of an EU candidate by the end of the year but that depends on the quality of answers to an EC questionnaire sent to Sarajevo in December 2016. The Bosnian Serb authorities currently refuse to make the necessary data available because they believe that a previously agreed mechanism of coordination of relations between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the EU is not functioning.

Stier said that his and Szijjarto's visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina together was a result of an earlier agreement and was primarily an expression of support to Bosnia and Herzegovina and its European journey.

He said that the first practical step by Croatia in the support to Bosnia and Herzegovina should be the signing of a European Partnership Agreement so as to give the country technical support in the process of integration with the EU. The agreement is expected to be signed at a joint session of the two countries' governments, which is expected to be held very soon.

Commenting on tensions in Bosnia and Herzegovina caused by the launching of a procedure for a review of the ICJ ruling against Serbia, Stier said that it was important that the process was conducted within state institutions.

"Every state has the right to use all instruments of international law, but decisions should be made within institutions and based on the constitutional principle on the equality of the constituent peoples," Stier said, thus indirectly suggesting that one should have avoided the current situation in which the review was launched based only on the request of the Bosniak side.

Croatia and Hungary encourage cooperation in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the sake of preserving stability because it is in the interest of all three countries, and Croatia, as Bosnia and Herzegovina's most important trade partner, wants to see a continuation of economic and social as well as political reforms in the country, Stier said.

"We are aware that the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has asked that the election law be amended and we want that to happen as soon as possible so that we can avert possible instability," said Stier.

He said that infrastructure projects like the construction of a highway as part of the 5c transport corridor were strongly supported by all three countries as was a stronger connecting of railways, adding that conditions had been created in relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina to tackle the problem of air pollution caused by the oil refinery in Bosanski Brod, by having the refinery convert to a gas-powered system of oil processing.

Szijjarto, too, confirmed that the stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina was a priority for his country.

He noted that the safest way for the country to achieve stability was through the process of integration with the EU.

He said that Hungary would keep in Bosnia and Herzegovina its 163-strong military contingent, which is part of the EU Force military mission, until further notice.

Bosnian Foreign Minister Igor Crnadak said that the two visiting ministers were friends of processes that had been launched in the country, expressing regret that their visit came at a time when the situation in the country was burdened by the request for the review of the ICJ ruling against Serbia.

He added that he still hoped that the country's integration with the EU would continue without current political obstacles, adding that it was an internal matter of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and not of Croatia, Hungary or the EU.

He said that particularly important issues were being raised in communication with Croatia, underlining that work on solving the problem of air pollution from the oil refinery in Bosanski Brod was nearing completion.

Along with the construction of a bridge on the Sava River at Svilaj, Crnadak also expected work on a bridge near Gradiška to be launched soon, noting that it was important for connecting Bosnia and Herzegovina with the European road network.

During their visit to Sarajevo, Stier and Szijjarto also met with members of the collective State Presidency and Prime Minister Denis Zvizdić.

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