Thank you for your hospitality and warm welcome to Sarajevo. And it is a pleasure to start here, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, my second visit to the six Western Balkans partners – ahead of our Summit at the end of this week.
This tour sends a clear signal. The commitment of the European Union to the Western Balkans is real. As real as the opportunity for enlargement. The start of the drafting of Montenegro’s Accession Treaty is proof of that.
Bosnia and Herzegovina needs to decide if it will do the necessary work to share the same future in the European Union. You are only a few steps away from the next tangible phase in the opening of accession negotiations – now is the time to focus on your goal and accelerate the pace of reforms.
The road ahead is demanding but there are some low hanging fruits to seize if you deliver on the alignment with the European Union legislation. I urge you to approve the two remaining reforms of your judiciary system and appoint a chief negotiator.
Equally urgent is to start implementing the Reform Agenda. This would unlock funds under the Reform and Growth Facility to boost your economic convergence and transform the lives of your citizens – do not miss this opportunity to secure them. Bosnia and Herzegovina has already lost €108 million and an additional €373 million are at risk in the coming months.
The European Union contributes to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s prosperity and security through concrete projects and policies that benefit your citizens:
- EUFOR Althea is a key element of the European Union’s long-standing commitments to the stability and security of this country;
- through the European Peace Facility (EPF), the EU provides tangible support to the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
- and, if you deliver on the alignment with the EU legislation, gradual integration in the European Single Market will benefit your citizens and businesses already before accession. This includes, for instance, becoming part of the EU Roaming space and joining Single European Payments Area.
European Union membership is a free and sovereign choice for Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is about more than access to the Single Market. It means joining a political Union built on common values and shared strategic choices. In this time of global geopolitical uncertainty and economic instability, more than an opportunity, enlargement is a geostrategic interest for Europe. It is as an investment in the peace, stability and security of our continent.
For that reason, I am also looking forward to the EU-Western Balkans Summit this Friday in Tivat, Montenegro. The Summit will be a clear demonstration of our determination to bring forward our cooperation and build on the momentum of the European Union’s enlargement.
My last message is on the appointment of the new High Representative. We are two days away from the Peace Implementation Council. Bosnia and Herzegovina is not anymore where it was in 1995. A lot of progress has been made. If the future of the country is in the European Union, it is important that the new High Representative to be appointed by the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council embodies Bosnia and Herzegovina’s choice to pursue European Union accession.
We will continue working together for a shared European future, within the European Union and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Thank you.