High Representative/Vice President Catherine Ashton visited Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday 18 April. HR/VP Ashton commenced her day in the country with an official call on the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina where she met Presidency members H.E Mr Zeljko Komsic, H.E. Mr Bakir Izetbegovic and Mr Miroslav Vujicic, Head of the Cabinet of H.E. Mr Nebojsa Radmanovic. In the meeting, HR/VP Ashton underlined the continuing commitment of the European Union to the EU membership perspective of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Later, speaking to the press in the building of the Delegation of the European Union/EU Special Representative Office in Sarajevo, HR/VP Ashton expressed disappointment that the political leaders of the country had not found an agreement on implementation of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case ‘Sejdic and Finci’. HR/VP Ashton urged the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina to hold their leaders to account. She highlighted the efforts expended by the European Union to assist Bosnia and Herzegovina, but said that the country must make progress towards the EU through its own efforts. HR/VP Ashton also pointed to the urgent challenges – the economy, jobs, rule of law – that citizens wanted to see addressed.
HR/VP Ashton spent time with the staff of the EUD/EUSR to thank them for their commitment and to encourage their efforts to move Bosnia and Herzegovina closer to the EU.
Together with the Head of Delegation/EU Special Representative Ambassador Peter Sorensen and the Commander of the EUFOR ALTHEA military mission Major General Dieter Heidecker, HR/VP Ashton travelled to the Potocari Memorial Centre in Srebrenica in order to pay respects to the victims of the genocide committed there. HR/VP Ashton laid a wreath in memory of the victims and walked among the graves. She viewed the Memorial Wall containing the names of the victims and signed the visitors’ book. HR/VP Ashton was accompanied throughout by members of the associations of relatives of the victims who shared their stories and experiences. To conclude the visit, HR/VP Ashton visited the Memorial Room and watched the documentary film about the events in Srebrenica.
