Judicial reform and a national war crimes strategy are among his top priorities, the High Representative and EU Special Representative said in an online answer to questions from citizens on the reci.ba website. “We discuss this issue almost every day with representatives of the judiciary … and we will not give up on this.”
Asked when BiH might join the European Union, Lajčák said: “This is like asking a sportsman how much time he will need to run a marathon when he has not even started the race. The speed at which the process advances will depend on Bosnia and Herzegovina.” He recalled that BiH first needed to sign the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the European Union and appealed to citizens to demand that no time is wasted in this process.
Answering a question on the future of the OHR, Lajčák described his mandate of High Representative as “a guarantee that nobody can divert Bosnia and Herzegovina from the right path” and expressed his preference for a “natural and harmonious” transition from the mandate of High Representative to an exclusively European mandate. For this to happen, an atmosphere needs to be created in which interventions by the High Representative are “less and less needed”.
Miroslav Lajčák’s full answers are available in video format on reci.ba, under the heading “Lajčák odgovara”.
The website reci.ba was launched as part of the EUSR’s campaign on the European perspective of Bosnia and Herzegovina and allows citizens to voice their opinion on the process of BiH’s integration into the European Union.