“Bosnia and Herzegovina has made great progress in ensuring a safe and secure environment for all its citizens over the last 13 years. This success is largely the result of the engagement of NATO and the European Union in the country and their continuing assistance to the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina and other relevant authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, High Representative and EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajčák told German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung in Sarajevo today.
Lajčak stressed that any decision on the future of EUFOR should be based on an overall assessment of the situation in the country and include both military and political considerations. “The European Union has invested massively in brining stability to BiH, and we must ensure that there is no possibility of any party undoing the progress that has been achieved so far.”
In recent weeks, the European Union has reiterated its commitment to Bosnia and Herzegovina on several occasions, and EU member states are currently focusing on the manifest slowdown of reforms in the country. “It is high time for BiH leaders and parliamentarians to accelerate the reforms needed for Euro-Atlantic integration”, Lajčák said, deploring that fact that recent warnings from EU institutions and EU capitals have not yet inspired a sense of urgency among BiH decision-makers with respect to meeting EU requirements.