I am very pleased that the political leadership of Bosnia and Herzegovina was able to reach important agreement on police reform. It is very encouraging that the present solutions are in conformity with the European Union principles. Politics is about finding practical solutions to difficult issues and the BiH politicians have shown that they are willing to find answers which will benefit the country as a whole.

I very much look forward to meeting the political representatives in Brussels on 10 May in order to discuss the steps they are planning to take in order to make sufficient progress on this important Feasibility Study recommendation. It is now essential that the Parliaments will fully support this agreement and ensure smooth continuation of police reform.

This spirit of constructive dialogue should also now be applied to resolving the remaining Feasibility Study issues, most importantly Public Broadcasting legislation, which is clearly outstanding. The European Commission will hold the next meeting of the Consultative Task Force in Sarajevo on 19 May. Based on the progress achieved by then, I hope to be able to prepare a recommendation for the opening of SAA negotiations. I am confident that with concentrated efforts it is possible for BiH to move forward to the next stage in the European integration process.