SARAJEVO – European Union wants Bosnia and Herzegovina to succeed on its path EU accession, said President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, after a meeting with the Chair of the country’s Council of Ministers, Borjana Krišto.
“The future of Bosnia and Herzegovina is in the European Union, as a single, united and sovereign state… We are here to support you in getting closer to the EU”, Von der Leyen stated. According to her, the goal now should be to make clear progress on the 14 key priorities.
She added that Bosnia needs to act with one voice, and not allow any more setbacks. Von der Leyen underlined the need for bringing the economies of the EU and the Western Balkans closer together.
“That’s what we have been working on. We have an investment plan worth € 30 billion for the Western Balkans, and this plan is rapidly bringing results. A great example is the highway and rail projects along Corridor Vc, which are the link to Central Europe. Your economy is at 35% of the European average, which means a lot of unused potential, which is important for us, and that is precisely why we are presenting the new development plan for the Western Balkans”, said Von der Leyen, N1 reported.
During the visit, Von der Leyen did not mention the opening of accession negotiations by the end of this year. However, Borjana Krišto underlined that she expects BiH to be encouraged by the opening accession talks.
Krišto said that this visit was a very significant for BiH’s path to the EU, adding that the arrival was the opportunity for presenting the EU Growth Plan for the Western Balkans.
She added that they discussed what the Council of Ministers in BiH has done in the past ten months regarding Bosnia’s EU path.
Krišto said that in the coming period, BiH Government will work intensive on fulfilling the necessary reforms.
A group of activists advocating for human rights welcomed the EC President in front of BiH Presidency building in Sarajevo with banners “EU and Von der Leyen complicit in genocide in Gaza”.