SARAJEVO, MAY 9 (ONASA) – Head of the European Union Delegation and EU Special Representative in BiH Johann Sattler and Chargé d’affaires of the Diplomatic Mission of Belgium in BiH Benjamin Sturtewagen said in a joint column that despite different characters, nationalities, party affiliations and life stories, the founders of the European Union were united by the common belief that Europe must no longer be destroyed by wars.
Among the founders of the European Union was a group of diverse and fascinating people. Jean Monnet, one of the most prominent leaders of European integration, was once a charismatic cognac merchant before becoming politically involved.
Altiero Spinelli, during his stay in prison in 1941, wrote a significant manifesto on European unity on cigarette paper and managed to smuggle it out of prison in a roasted chicken. Robert Schuman, the author of the Schuman Declaration of May 9, 1950, which paved the way to today’s European Union, was a deeply religious man who was beatified by the Catholic Church, which is one of the steps in canonization. Konrad Adenauer, the workaholic and post-war German chancellor, was at the forefront of the reconciliation process that restored his country’s reputation and economy after the devastation wrought by Nazism. Simone Veil, president of the first directly elected European Parliament in 1979, survived Auschwitz and Belsen.
Despite their different characters, nationalities, party affiliations and life stories, the founders of the Union were united by the common conviction that Europe must no longer be destroyed by wars, so frequent in our history. Unique in the view that monuments to prematurely ended lives across our continent must be a strong and constant reminder of the essence of what is at stake here. Guided by the unique idea that the many peoples of Europe work together to strengthen their national identity, while the flag should be a source of celebration and pride at a football match or cultural festival, instead of being attached to a bayonet or a tank. For the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who remember the consequences of the conflict, the promise of a future within the Union is a guarantee of peace, security and a better future.
Enlargement is one of the most successful policies of the European Union. The unification of 450 million people in the Union of 27 member states is one of the reasons for the Nobel Peace Prize for the European Union in 2012. However, the project of unifying European nations is still not complete.
There is a new dynamic in the enlargement process, the realization that the countries that want to join cannot stay in the waiting room of the Union forever. This realization came to the fore after Russia’s illegal aggression against Ukraine, with the aim of drawing new borders and returning Europe to the political spheres dominated by force, as an idea that the founding of the EU was supposed to leave in the past. There is an understanding that if the countries of the Western Balkans sincerely engage in reforms, the European path should revive, and the region should be offered new opportunities for stronger integration into the single European market, as well as new sources of financing.
Before the historic decision of the European Council to open accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, the coalition at the state level expressed a desire for sincere engagement in the reforms necessary for progress on the European path. Through negotiations, dialogue and compromise, which are so important within the European Union itself, a number of key laws were adopted.
Unfortunately, Bosnia and Herzegovina is once again in a political crisis. For the benefit of the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the leaders should show vision and true courage and leadership and take advantage of the current historical moment to achieve lasting progress on the European path. Accession to the Union requires difficult decisions. It is time to start making such difficult decisions.
It is time for further upgrading in the spirit demonstrated by the local authorities in the months before the decision of the European Council. The consensus necessary for making joint decisions that benefit everyone is the backbone of the way the European Union functions, and it can be the same in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is not the case that the 27 EU member states always agree on every issue. Precisely for this reason, the meetings of the leaders of the member countries can last for days, until the early hours of the morning. However, this fundamental process of negotiations for the harmonization of common positions also produces concrete results, including a single currency, a prosperous single market, a Schengen zone without borders, high social, environmental and consumer standards and others.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is already realizing significant benefits from its partnership with the Union, including better infrastructure, trade and business opportunities, programs such as Erasmus+, Creative Europe and Horizon Europe, which open opportunities for BiH students, creatives and researchers. The successful pan-European response to the Covid pandemic provided equipment to save the lives of sick people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, over half of the total amount of vaccines in this country and over 70 million euros in socioeconomic recovery.
There is interest on both sides to progress in enlargement, but this does not mean that the conditions for membership can be changed. These are prerequisites for future successful full membership. The accession process is hard work, but it inevitably brings reforms that improve the functionality of institutions, strengthen the rule of law, improve the fight against corruption, support the energy transition, lead to greater environmental protection and create a more favorable business environment for growth and jobs, and much more. It is true that every country that has opened accession negotiations has witnessed first-hand the benefits that come from negotiations in terms of investment and growth.
The European Union is also dedicatedly working on considering the possibility of how the countries of the Western Balkans can enjoy the important advantages of integrating with the European Union even before full membership. Agreements on the abolition of roaming already mean that BiH citizens can travel to the region and Europe without accumulating excessive phone bills. Plans for Bosnia and Herzegovina to join the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), a European Union initiative to integrate payments to simplify bank transfers, will lead to a dramatic reduction in the cost of sending money from the Union to Bosnia and Herzegovina and vice versa, with all what it will mean for families and economic entities. We are looking for ways to simplify procedures at border crossings and speed up the flow of traffic, including goods. We are committed to supporting further infrastructure improvements, including the completion of Corridor 5c, as well as digital infrastructure in terms of better internet speeds and connections.
It is time to complete the European Union. Robert Schuman, that withdrawn, academic Bible scholar, in his Declaration of May 9, 1950, points out that “Europe will not be created overnight, or according to just one plan. Europe will be built through concrete achievements that, above all, generate de facto solidarity”.
On Europe Day 2024, the day we also commemorate the fall of fascism, we must remember the enormous achievement of a united Europe and work tirelessly to see that the vision of the founders of the Union is completed here in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as on the entire continent.Sattler and Sturtewagen: Day Europe 2024 – It is time for the European Union to be completed, announced the EU delegation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. (end)