Good morning. It is lovely to be back in this wonderful city of Sarajevo.
You may remember I was here less than six months ago, with the then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Hilary and I came to deliver a crucial message: that action is required from the country’s political leadership.
I said at the time that we are fully committed to Bosnia and Herzegovina and that we want to see a united, stable, prosperous, multi-ethnic country taking its rightful place, through its own efforts, in the European Union.
I also stressed that to make its EU future real it is important to look beyond domestic divisions, beyond political rivalries and vested interests – otherwise this country will be left behind by other countries in the region.
And it will not surprise you that I am really disappointed that no real progress has been made since I last came here.
Let me be clear that the European Union has held to its word and provided all the necessary support, both by the excellent delegation here led by Peter Sorensen, and also through the efforts of Commissioner Štefan Füle.
He was only here last week to facilitate the efforts to put into effect the European Court of Human Rights ruling in the Sejdic Finci case.
And I really do share Štefan’s regret that the political parties have not turned their declared commitment into concrete action. Instead it seems they have focused on party and ethnic interests.
I can only repeat to you that the issue of implementing Sejdic-Finci judgement will not go away – it will get bigger and it will become more urgent.
And only progress on its implementation will allow the European Union to put into place the Stabilisation and Association Agreement for Bosnia and Herzegovina and to enable this country to submit a credible membership application.
I strongly believe in the European future of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
It is what the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina want and deserve. The people want to move forward. They want to see a country where their rights are respected. They want to see the urgent challenges – economy, jobs, rule of law – are efficiently addressed.
The European Union is the strong partner of the citizens of this country. And I say through you, please hold your leaders accountable.
And we call on the political leaders to listen and take responsibility together and act. Please do not put your country and your European future at risk.
I said at the beginning, we want to see Bosnia and Herzegovina succeed. I came back as quickly as I could to send that message again. But as in every other place on Earth, success begins at home. And I wish the people of this country real success.
Thank you very much.
