Ambassador Sorensen and EU Heads of Mission visits Banja Luka

Head of EU Delegation and EU Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ambassador Peter Sorensen, accompanied by ambassadors of 17 EU Member States accredited to Bosnia and Herzegovina, or their deputies, visited Banja Luka today.

The visit was an opportunity for EU representatives to directly contact authorities in the country, who also have their tasks in relation to EU integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is also a chance for various projects financed by the EU to present their work and achievements.

During the visit, Ambassador Sorensen met with the Republika Srpska Prime Minister, Mr Aleksandar Dzombic, and RS Minister for Econ Relations and Regional Cooperation, Ms Zeljka Cvijanovic.

Addressing the media after the meeting in the RS Government, Ambassador Sorensen said: “EU’s priorities are well known and unchanged. These points were also made clear at the last General Affairs Council and at the High Level Dialogue last week. BiH will have to focus on: making credible efforts to implement the judgment of the ECHR in the case of Sejdic and Finci; maintaining and consolidating economic stability inter alia by reaching an agreement with the IMF for a new programme; and putting in place an adequate EU co-ordination mechanism. This is also a key issue, and the BiH leaders committed themselves to agree on such a mechanism by 31 October. These are the three key issues from the EU agenda, which BiH should focus on.”

Ambassador Sorensen, accompanied by one group of ambassadors, also met with young representatives of the political parties which participate in the Republika Srpska National Assembly. During their visit to Banja Luka, one group of ambassadors and deputy ambassadors visited “Innovation Centre Banja Luka” and the other group of ambassadors and deputy ambassadors visited projects “Combat Corruption in Education” and “Anti-corruption measures at Universities in BiH”.

Europa.ba