SARAJEVO, MAY 30 (ONASA) – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Elmedin Konaković is participating in the 18th GLOBSEC Forum 2023, which will be held from May 29 to 31, 2023 in Bratislava.
At this year’s Forum, which is dedicated to issues of global stability and security due to Russian aggression against Ukraine, the topics of continued support for Ukraine, European resilience and mitigating the global consequences of the conflict are discussed.
Minister Konaković participated in a panel discussion on the topic “EU enlargement: On the right track or on hold?”, together with the Minister for European and International Affairs of the Republic of Austria Alexander Schallenberg, the Chairman of the OSCE and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of North Macedonia, Bujar Osmani, and the Deputy Minister of European and Foreign Affairs of Albania Megi Fino.
On that occasion, Minister Konaković spoke about BiH’s path to the EU and pointed out that the European future for our country was unlocked in December last year when BiH was granted candidate status for EU membership.
He emphasized that EU membership does not only represent a brighter future for Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also an investment in the security, peace and resilience of Europe. He expressed his belief that only enlargement leads to a stronger and stronger Europe.
He reiterated that there is no other alternative for Bosnia and Herzegovina but to join the EU, as this is the way to implement the necessary reforms to ensure peace, stability and prosperity in the country, the region and Europe. “We are aware that we have to complete a lot of tasks on our European path when it comes to the rule of law, the fight against organized crime and corruption, improving democratic society, strengthening social justice, with an emphasis on fulfilling the 14 key priorities from the EC Opinion,” said Minister Konaković and referred to the effectiveness and efficiency of the BiH Council of Ministers in the past three months.
“It is extremely important to take advantage of this momentum and open EU accession negotiations as early as possible this year, taking into account that next year is an election year in the EU,” said the minister.
He assessed that the new geopolitical circumstances have changed and emphasized the key importance of the partnership between the EU and the Western Balkan region, with a clear European perspective.
GLOBSEC Bratislava Forum is one of the leading conferences on global security in the world, which again this year brought together numerous high delegations, presidents and prime ministers of countries, ministers and deputies of foreign affairs of European countries, representatives of the EU, editors of the world’s leading media and experts in security issues.