Former High Representatives Appeal for BiH's Swift EU Accession

(Patria) - "February 24, 2022, marks a dark day in European history, as there is a danger that such aggression against a sovereign state could prompt other dictators to take similar steps." With these words, two former High Representatives in BiH, Christian Schwarz-Schilling and Valentin Inzko, addressed the President of the European Commission, reacting to the dramatic development of the situation in Ukraine and the Russian army's attacks on civilian targets.

In addition to Putin's warfare reminding them of the war in BiH and the artillery terror against the residents of Sarajevo, they also believe that "Dodik and Vučić could 'exploit Russia's aggression against Ukraine and provoke incidents or a new war in BiH or Kosovo," reports SB.

"Serbia and Republika Srpska have not achieved their goals from the 90s. In addition, they maintain very close relations with Russia. Therefore, we fear that the current aggression against Ukraine could spread to the Western Balkans, primarily to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo," they state in a joint letter to Ursula von der Leyen.

Given that EU member states Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia have advocated for Ukraine's urgent accession to the EU, the former High Representatives believe that now is the time to begin accession negotiations with the Western Balkan countries aspiring to EU membership without delay. This must also apply to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and it should be a lesson learned from the events of the past 6 days, according to the joint appeal by Inzko and Schwarz-Schilling to the President of the European Commission.

"The EU should admit Bosnia and Herzegovina into the EU as quickly and unbureaucratically as possible," believes Schwarz-Schilling, stating that Europeans also have a moral obligation to BiH, as during the war in the 90s, by imposing an arms embargo on Bosnia and Herzegovina, they prevented the attacked from defending themselves.

Valentin Inzko believes that the events in Ukraine can spur the international community to seriously address BiH and the threats of secession, although Dodik is not currently talking about it, and Russia, like Serbia, emphasizes that they support BiH's territorial sovereignty. "We can conditionally speak of a system of connected courts. EUFOR has therefore already strengthened its troops in BiH, which I have always advocated for, although there are few or almost no German soldiers in BiH. The formula is: Peaceful Balkans – Safer Europe," says Inzko, adding that he has not seen such great interest from the international community in BiH in the last 15 years as now, and he is very pleased about it.

The two former High Representatives in BiH point out that NATO and the EU, with their EUFOR troops, have both the mandate and the obligation towards BiH. "This stems from the Dayton Peace Agreement and the Berlin Plus agreement (an agreement on joint military action between NATO and the EU) and mandates the preservation of BiH's sovereignty and territorial integrity, despite the fact that this country is not a member of NATO or the EU."

Despite this obligation, they call on NATO and Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to provide "strong guarantees to the population of Bosnia and Herzegovina that they will not be left behind, as they were 30 years ago." They also ask him to "take the necessary steps to prevent threats to the existence of Bosnia and Herzegovina."

"No one knows what all of Putin's goals are. Therefore, we ask you to do everything in your power to protect BiH. Its citizens must receive NATO guarantees in case the war spreads to the Western Balkans," says Inzko.

Inzko does not believe that "Putin and Lavrov wake up in the morning thinking about Banja Luka," but that does not mean it could not be on the agenda one day.

Therefore, the High Representatives are calling for NATO troops to be sent to the Brčko corridor and the BiH border with Serbia, referring to Stoltenberg's recent statement: "The Kremlin is trying to put NATO and the EU in a position to provide less support to their partners, which is why our collective response must be to provide even greater support to countries like BiH, Moldova, and Georgia to help them succeed in their democratic reforms and the path they have chosen."

Inzko and Schwarz-Schilling go a step further. They believe that Serbia, which refuses to impose sanctions on Russia, should be excluded from its EU membership candidacy. They refer to the first High Representative in BiH, Carl Bildt, who tweeted a few days ago that Serbia, with its stance towards Russia, "disqualifies itself from the accession process" and that "there is actually no place in the EU for countries that do not share European values."

"I agree with Carl Bildt," Valentin Inzko told DW, "but he could have said it earlier." "I want to remind you that another politician – namely Heiko Maas (former German Foreign Minister) – said on October 28, 2020, that a country that wants to join the EU cannot have a place for inciting nationalism, denying war crimes, and glorifying war criminals."

The letters to Stoltenberg and Ursula von der Leyen, as well as the joint appeal, were handed over by the High Representatives to the General Consulate of BiH in Frankfurt.

The Consul General and native of Mostar, Višnja Lončar, on whose initiative the 30th anniversary of BiH's statehood was celebrated for the first time at that location, stated for DW: "The war in Ukraine is terrible, but here in BiH, no one has the right to utter that word, let alone threaten with it. We, along with imams, friars, and Orthodox priests, celebrate Independence Day, and no one will divide us."