REPRESENTATIVE IN EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT TINEKE STRIK: EU NEEDS TO PROVIDE MORE ACTIVE SUPPORT TO BIH

SARAJEVO, FEBRUARY 12 (ONASA) – Member of the European Parliament Tineke Strik said today, as the keynote speaker at the session of the Krug 99 association, that now it is necessary for the European Union to have a stronger engagement, to provide more active support to Bosnia and Herzegovina, i.e. actors working on governance rights, civil society, but also to offer young people an economic perspective for the future.
Speaking on the topic “From Dayton to Brussels: BiH’s path towards the EU and the last decisions of the OHR”, Strik stated at the press conference via zoom that October 2 should have been a day to celebrate democracy, an important step and an incentive for further reforms in BiH. However, as she added, thanks to the decisions of High Representative Christian Schmidt, a step back towards ethnic divisions and nepotism was made.
My colleagues from the European Parliament and I criticized the decisions of the high representative because we need reforms that will be inclusive and we need to follow the path that will lead us to the principle of “one man, one vote”, i.e. to complete democracy instead of returning to nationalist divisions – she pointed out. Uncle.
She stated that in the light of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, the level of awareness in the European Union regarding the importance of the Western Balkans getting closer to the EU has increased, and that greater engagement is underway and that the EU has determined that one of its priorities is to speed up the accession of the Western Balkan countries to the EU.
In order to achieve this, we need unity within the EU related to policies towards the Western Balkans, but we also need unity against foreign interference by states in internal affairs. We must also make sure that member states such as Croatia and Hungary do not put their national interests as a priority in that process on a unilateral basis – Strik added.
According to her, the European Union should take a stricter stance regarding the conditionality of further funding and the EU accession process. Strik added that 14 priorities of the European Commission are known and that in this sense the EU should be very clear that it is necessary to implement democratic reforms.
It is in the interest of the EU that the Western Balkans, and thus Bosnia and Herzegovina, become closer to the EU, and it is necessary for the EU to take ownership of these processes and the initiative because, as we know, the decisions of High Representative Schmidt were initiated more by the USA and Croatia. In this sense, the EU should be brave to show the USA what the true democratic path means and alignment with EU standards and legislation – added Strik.
The president of Krug 99, Adil Kulenović, before moving on to the topic of today’s session, expressed his deepest and sincere condolences to the people of Turkey and Syria, the families and friends of the victims of the catastrophic earthquake on behalf of the members.
We invite all institutions and citizens to continue providing assistance to the victims in their own capacity. We, who in the recent past expected the solidarity of the world, today must show it with our own actions and concrete actions – said Kulenović. (end)