HR/VP Mogherini said:
“…Another point in which the Council has adopted Conclusions is Bosnia and Herzegovina. I paid together with Commissioner Hahn a visit to Sarajevo some days ago, in the follow up of the Council of November when we were asked to visit Sarajevo. We met with the political institutional leaderships there, to check if there was a level of engagement of commitment sufficient enough for us to want to engage in a process that could move Bosnia and Herzegovina closer to the European Union. The visit was extremely positive, we met with the presidency, we met with 12 political leaders in Parliaments, we met with civil society and we came to the conclusion that ‘yes, there can be a new start for EU and Bosnia and Herzegovina’, and we have to take the most out of this possibility.
“So the Council today has decided that we will be ready to re-sequence the order in which the conditionality will be faced. We have agreed with the ministers, after having agreed with the Bosnian leadership, that in Sarajevo there will be a work starting tomorrow to draft and agree on a written declaration, a written commitment, from the side of the presidency, of the leadership of different parties and a vote of the Parliament in Bosnia and Herzegovina to clearly state the commitment and the engagement of the leadership and of the population that is more than ready to move towards a European Union, to reforms, starting from economic and social reforms, but then also tackling the functionality of the State and all the different levels of the authorities.
“We are ready to engage, we are ready to reciprocate in the moment when this commitment will be adopted by the Parliament, and we really believe – with a very, I have to say, positive mood and discussion we had with all the Ministers – that this could be a turning point in the way of Bosnia and Herzegovina towards the European Union. All the Western Balkans are European countries and we need to make sure that together we move towards that direction consistently and not only in words…”
Read the full transcript of HR/VP Mogherini’s press conference at: www.eeas.europa.eu/statements-eeas/2014/141215_04_en.htm
