A New EU Approach

The European Union, now acting under the Hungarian Presidency, can help Bosnia and Herzegovina emerge from its political impasse and get back on the EU road, High Representative and EU Special Representative Valentin Inzko said during a meeting with Foreign Minister János Martonyiin Budapest today.


The HR/EUSR stressed that the reinforced EU presence now being prepared represents an EU approach that is timely in view of the continuing BiH political deadlock and he warned that the failure to establish authorities at the State level more than six months after the general election is placing the material wellbeing of BiH citizens at risk.


Earlier in the day, delivering a keynote address to the Hungarian Foreign Policy Institute, the HR/EUSR said the new EU policy in Bosnia and Herzegovina “takes into account the specific challenges the country faces.” He stressed that the EU Office will have a customised toolbox to prevent “political obstruction.”


He pointed out that after a long period in which the Dayton system was adapted to increase functionality, “in the last four years we have seen the system misused for the purposes of obstruction and short-term political advantage.” Faced with this, he said, “we cannot abandon the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina.”


On the contrary, the HR/EUSR argued, “with a focused and resolute EU engagement – we can help the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina go beyond the limitations of the present political system in order to complete the country’s full EU integration.”


The HR/EUSR said the Hungarian Presidency “can play a significant role in making sure that the huge constituency for progress in Bosnia and Herzegovina gets the support and encouragement that it needs and deserves.”


In Budapest, the HR/EUSR also met Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu.

Europa.ba