go to the original language article
Sarajevo (Fena) – The Secretary General of the European Movement in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Haris Plakalo, told Fena that the re-election of Ursula von der Leyen as President of the European Commission is a confirmation of the European Commission’s continued commitment to the European integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina and a chance that the Western Balkans in general have been given and must not miss.
– President Von der Leyen has undoubtedly demonstrated and proven several times during the past mandate that she is a sincere friend of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and from that perspective, Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as its people and citizens, can be satisfied with the re-election of Ursula von der Leyen as President of the European Commission – he said.
Plakalo recalled that Bosnia and Herzegovina made the greatest progress precisely in the past five years thanks to the efforts made by President Von der Leyen together with all other members of the European Commission to make Bosnia and Herzegovina a candidate for membership and also obtain negotiating status.
– In today’s address to the European Parliament, President Von der Leyen once again emphasized the importance of the integration of Western Balkan countries within the EU through various approaches of the Commission in the next five years, but also highlighted the importance of individual progress of each of the Western Balkan countries – Plakalo said.
However, he believes that it should not be expected that future decisions regarding Bosnia and Herzegovina will be made in the same way as they were previously, more due to EU efforts than the efforts of BiH institutions.
– There is already a problem with the final document of the reform program of BiH from the EU growth plan intended for BiH, and it is evident that BiH missed funds amounting to 70 million euros due to the lack of consensus to include the measures set by the European Commission as a condition in the document. The mere fact that, despite the draft sent to Brussels, there is still no final and agreed document expected by Brussels is certainly a setback when it comes to BiH’s path towards the EU and the funds that are urgently needed by BiH – said Plakalo.
According to him, it is also important to highlight the reasons, which are that in addition to the budget of BiH institutions waiting for adoption in the House of Peoples, three other important measures are conditional for the operationalization of funds. These are primarily the establishment of a single emergency number throughout the state, the abolition of the entity veto on the allocation of aid from state funds, and the filling of vacant positions in the Constitutional Court of BiH and the respect of the decisions of this court.
– Precisely due to irresponsibility towards the citizens of BiH, the current 70 million euros will be allocated to other Western Balkan states that have submitted their reform programs concerning the growth plan. This clearly shows that, regardless of the re-election of the President of the European Commission, Von der Leyen, to the head of the European Commission, the institutions of BiH and political representatives in BiH will be much more responsible for BiH’s stagnation towards the EU than the entire European administration. It is finally time for everyone within BiH to start working in the interest of the citizens and peoples of this country – said the Secretary General of the European Movement in BiH Haris Plakalo for Fena. (18.7.)