The High Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, urged BiH leaders to forge ahead with fulfilling criteria for the EU Road Map after meeting today in Sarajevo with Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, EU Commissioner for External Relations Chris Patten and Belgium’s Secretary of State for Foreign Trade, Annemie Neyts-Uytterbroeck.
The EU Troika and the High Representative talked extensively on recent events in BiH and the extent of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s efforts to fulfil the EU Road Map, criteria necessary for a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), the first step towards EU membership. This week, Croatia signed its own SAA with the European Union.
The EU Troika members made clear that political extremists are a serious obstacle to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s efforts to integrate with European structures.
The High Representative expressed his appreciation for the European Union’s commitment to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the whole region. He reiterated that the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina can only lie within wider European structures.
The path towards this goal has been laid out clearly in the EU Road Map. Thut clearly in the EU Road Map. Therefore, the High Representative reminded BiH citizens and their political representatives that the necessary reforms — market reforms, refugee returns and functioning state institutions — must be carried out to reach this goal.