DIRECTOR FOR EUROPE AT EUROPEAN FOREIGN AFFAIRS SERVICE EICHHORST: THREE LAWS AND NEGOTIATIONS WITH FRONTEX CONDITIONS FOR OPENING NEGOTIATIONS WITH EU

SARAJEVO, FEBRUARY 7 (ONASA-Hina) – Bosnia and Herzegovina must take seriously the tasks it has to complete in order to get the possibility of opening accession negotiations with the EU, and its authorities should continuously work on this, which means the adoption of at least three laws by March, she said in Wednesday in Sarajevo, Angelina Eichhorst, director for Europe at the European External Action Service (EEAS).
Eichhorst participated in a meeting with the political directors of the ministries of foreign affairs of the Western Balkan countries, and she met separately with the highest officials of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
As she said after the meeting with members of the BiH Presidency, she conveyed the message that the European Commission still expects BiH to take the concrete steps necessary for the European Council to consider and possibly approve the opening of accession negotiations in March.
Eichhorst clarified that the list of tasks that BiH currently has is reduced to the adoption of three laws in the BiH parliament and the beginning of negotiations with FRONTEX, which would enable the engagement of European police officers in that country for better control of illegal migration.
As Eichhorst stated, the BiH Parliament would have to adopt laws on the prevention of money laundering and financing of terrorism and on the prevention of conflicts of interest, as well as on courts.
In addition, changes in the electoral legislation must be made in order to ensure the integrity of the electoral process and to implement the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), following the negotiations previously conducted by political leaders. That, as she said, is what is realistically possible to achieve at this moment.
“This is a great opportunity for BiH and it should not be missed, but everyone must work on it 24 hours a day,” said Eichhorst, reminding that only some of the goals defined in 2019 through 14 reform priorities and the EU can be achieved in five weeks therefore, he is not insisting on the entire reform package at this time.
BiH Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Josip Brkić said that BiH wants to follow the EU’s foreign and security policy, and Brussels’ assessment is that it is now doing so in its entirety.
As he explained, the special focus of the Sarajevo meeting of regional diplomats was focused on the continuation of Russian aggression on Ukraine and the consequences for the EU, as well as on the relationship with China, and Eichhorst confirmed that the Union wants the candidate countries for membership to be proven allies in foreign policy what BiH is.
“With concrete actions, we need to prove our readiness for partnership, and thus for integration into the EU,” said Brkić.