Your Excellencies Prime Ministers,

Chairman Bevanda, Mayor Bešlić,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

May I start by joining the other speakers in congratulating Director Bošnjak and her team for organizing the 16th Mostar Economic Fair. The success of the Mostar Fair – with 700 exhibitors from some 40 countries – makes this a real highlight of the business year in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the region.

The European Union is very proud to be a partner of the Mostar Fair this year. I look forward welcoming you at our stand today.

Our team of experts will be there to tell you more about EU funding opportunities for small and medium businesses, to discuss cross-border tourism, energy potential or to learn more about Spain, Romania and the Netherlands, whose Embassies are represented too in the course of the week.  

The European Union is a partner to this Fair because we share a common interest with you – trade, and specifically – free trade. The 27 Member States of the EU owe the advances we have made in the past decades to our decision to make trade the foundation of our co-operation.

On that basis we established the Single market and free movement of goods, capital, services and persons between states. We believe that this approach has worked for us and we believe that it can work for you too in the Western Balkan region.

The past year has witnessed strong progress by a number of countries in the region on the pathway towards the EU.

Croatia is no more than ten weeks away from becoming the 28th member state. Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are candidate countries. Accession negotiations have already opened with Montenegro.

I emphasise again today that we want Bosnia and Herzegovina to be part of our single market – part of the European Union – as soon as the country is ready to be so.

The EU remains firmly committed to supporting BiH’s progress towards European Union. We are and will be Bosnia and Herzegovina’s strongest supporter as it makes economic reforms, and works to put rule of law and the fight against corruption at the heart of domestic policy.

To conclude, I have no doubt that the answer to the challenges you face is more of European integration, more openness to investments from EU companies and more exports to the EU market, which from 1st of July will include Croatia’s market too.

Thank you for your attention.

I am very pleased to declare the Mostar International Economic Fair officially open.