URSULA VON DER LEYEN AFTER MEETING WITH KRIŠTO: WE ARE MAKING REAL OFFER FOR BIH AT THIS MOMENT

SARAJEVO, NOVEMBER 1 (ONASA) – The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, met today in Sarajevo with the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers, Borjana Krišto, and after the meeting she also held a press conference.
At the beginning of her address to the public, the President of the European Commission referred to her earlier visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“It was truly a historic day, emotional and important for your country, but also for the EU. My first message is basically to underline again that the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina is in the EU. I emphasize how strong our support is for your European path,” said Von der Leyen.
She emphasized that the formation of the government showed that the country can achieve good results.
“You have shown through the formation of the government and all that was done in the first year, that the country can achieve results. I am talking about the package of measures in the area of the rule of law in the past weeks, and now decisive progress should be made in the realization of 14 priorities. This will represent progress on the accession process and bring you closer to the EU,” explained the President of the European Commission.
She also pointed out that the European Union and Bosnia and Herzegovina will continue their good cooperation.
“Our cooperation so far has been excellent and we will continue to cooperate closely. You all know that in order to reach this goal, Bosnia and Herzegovina needs to act unitedly and act with one voice and attitude. We cannot allow a setback in terms of common values in any part You spoke about constitutional arrangements, civil liberties. All of these are the foundations of the EU. The future of the country is in the European Union as a single, united and sovereign country,” said the president of the European Commission, who also referred to the economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its modernization.
“We have to work on bringing the economies together and we have already worked on that. We have an investment plan of 30 billion euros for the Western Balkans and it is already bringing results. These are examples of highway and railway projects. Last year we went through a severe energy crisis together, but we remained side by side and thus showed that we can bridge the gap by working together under such action,” emphasizes Von der Leyen.
When it comes to the growth plan for the Western Balkans, Ursula von der Leyen explained how it consists of four principles.
“Your economy is at 35 percent of the European average. A lot of unused potential, which is important for us. For this reason, we are presenting a new growth plan for the Western Balkans. The first component is that we open a single market to business entities from the Western Balkans. The second principle is that the Western Balkans opens its borders and you complete the regional market. The third is, if we open the single market and you complete the regional one, then this entails certain reforms that must be implemented for better integration. This is a better business environment, digitization, preparation of the economy for the green transition. The fourth principle that accompanies this is investments,” she explained.
In the end, the president of the European Commission emphasized that this is an excellent offer for Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“I think this is the right offer that comes at the right time. If we succeed in everything we set out to do, we have the possibility to double the economy within a decade. I am here to reiterate our support and emphasize that we are with you,” concluded Ursula von der Leyen.