Commissioner Hahn:  Thank you very much. Welcome Minister, ladies and gentlemen,

I am happy to be back here in Sarajevo. I was here together with Federica Mogherini before, still in 2014. I can confirm what the Minister has said, that in only a couple of weeks, one could say, the mood, the climate, the atmosphere towards Bosnia and Herzegovina in Europe has totally changed.

The written commitment, now the fact that SAA comes into force with the 1st of June 2015 – these are examples of the progress, the development we, and in particular Bosnia and Herzegovina, have made in the past couple of weeks. Of course, this very positive atmosphere has also created a lot of expectations also on the European side. But we are all confident that the spirit – which you can really grasp here in Sarajevo and in the country – will continue and indeed we will see very soon the first deliverables.

From our side we are ready to assist, to support; also the financial allocation is already decided. It would be for the years 2014-2017, including the support for the reconstruction work after the flooding, nearly 200 million euro. But I would not exclude if things go well, as it has evolved in the last couple of weeks, I think we are flexible enough to increase the budget, if it is necessary.

It leads me to my second point. We have really appreciated also the contribution of the new governments of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the past couple of weeks when we could find an agreement on the level of prime ministers – only two and a half weeks ago in Brussels – about a core network of railways and railroads in the Western Balkans being embedded in the Trans-European Networks.

It’s really about very concrete and realistic and feasible projects which have to be completed at the latest by  the end of 2030 and which are suited to connect, to reconnect the Western Balkans with Europe and in particular also your country with your neighbouring countries and all the other countries on the European continent.

The European Union is ready to provide a kind of ‘seed’ financing for the implementation of these projects, of up to one billion euros, in order to support countries in the region to find the necessary financing with the support, of course, of international financial institutions.

This decision is a first, clear and precise outcome of the Berlin process launched in summer 2014 in Berlin and we will have a follow up conference in August this year in Vienna where there should be already a decision about the very concrete projects related to the regional networks in the area of transport but also energy supply.

Finally, regional cooperation and connectivity should not stop at the areas of transport and energy supply but we discussed, the minister and myself, there could be a second round of connectivity activities, for instance in the area of tertiary education cooperation amongst universities in the region because it is about stopping the brain drain in the region and to move it, turn it, into a brain circulation. We have to provide a perspective for, in particular, young people to stay in the region to have a perspective, an opportunity in terms of education but also in terms of economic opportunities.

So you see a lot of very concrete projects which are suited to move Bosnia and Herzegovina faster and closer towards a future membership in the European Union.

[First question went to Minister Crnadak]

FACE TV: This question is bit off topic but it is still relevant. Commissioner Hahn you said that it is a very positive atmosphere compared to what you saw when you came here in December last year with Ms Mogherini. However in the last few days we have bit of an awkward situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the smaller entity RS, and we are interested to hear the view of the EU on the activities of the RS Ministry of Interior. Some would call this harassment of Bosniaks, others would say that RS MoI is acting outside of their competencies and functions. So how does Europe see this and the unfortunate events in Zvornik?  And question to Minister Crnadak, what did you say to Europe – what is happening in the RS?

[Minister Crnadak answered]

Commissioner Hahn: Indeed, it was and it is a human tragedy and I would like to use the opportunity to express my condolence to the family and friends of the victim.  This event was condemned also by the International Community in the country.  But more in general, if you ask about the political climate, I really would like to stress that this, I think, is the new approach – that Europe doesn’t intervene in internal issues between the different parts of the country. It is task of the country to resolve the problems and to find ways and means to communicate with us in a coordinated and coherent way and this is why we need this coordination mechanism and this is what I mean- to have a structure in place which allows us, together with the authorities in the country, to realize and to implement the necessary projects which contribute to an increase of welfare level for people in the country. Once again, we have to serve people. People are the responsibility of the politicians here in the country, but also we as European officials.

HINA news agency: My question is regarding EU’s request for the adaptation of the temporary trade agreement so it can be applicable in relation to Croatia. BiH authorities are reluctant regarding this. I know that you will meet Minister Sarovic, so could you comment- what is the position of the EU? Do we have to do this by 1 January as it was announced or will sanctions follow?

Commissioner Hahn: Well, this has to be done. Unfortunately, already in the past Bosnia has lost some time in order to resolve this problem. It has to be done and I am pretty sure that we can find a common solution for that and to have a very quick solution for that. I am fully aware about the particular interest, but of course, we have to respect also international contracts and regulations.
nce to the family and friends of the victim.  This event was condemned also by the International Community in the country.  But more in general, if you ask about the political climate, I really would like to stress that this, I think, is the new approach – that Europe doesn’t intervene in internal issues between the different parts of the country. It is task of the country to resolve the problems and to find ways and means to communicate with us in a coordinated and coherent way and this is why we need this coordination mechanism and this is what I mean- to have a structure in place which allows us, together with the authorities in the country, to realize and to implement the necessary projects which contribute to an increase of welfare level for people in the country. Once again, we have to serve people. People are the responsibility of the politicians here in the country, but also we as European officials.

HINA news agency: My question is regarding EU’s request for the adaptation of the temporary trade agreement so it can be applicable in relation to Croatia. BiH authorities are reluctant regarding this. I know that you will meet Minister Sarovic, so could you comment- what is the position of the EU? Do we have to do this by 1 January as it was announced or will sanctions follow?

Commissioner Hahn: Well, this has to be done. Unfortunately, already in the past Bosnia has lost some time in order to resolve this problem. It has to be done and I am pretty sure that we can find a common solution for that and to have a very quick solution for that. I am fully aware about the particular interest, but of course, we have to respect also international contracts and regulations.