Members of the Collegium of the House of Representatives of BiH with the US Ambassador: MAP is a technical issue, resolve it through dialogue

(Patria) - Members of the Collegium of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina spoke today with the newly appointed Ambassador of the United States of America (USA) to BiH Eric Nelson and his associates. During the conversation, the Speaker of the House of Representatives Borjana Krišto, and her deputies Denis Zvizdić and Nebojša Radmanović informed the guest about the current political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the process of establishing government.

Thanking Ambassador Nelson for the assistance that the US continuously provides to our country, Speaker Krišto emphasized that there are still many issues in BiH that need to be discussed and resolved, which affect the normal functioning of the government. Krišto specifically mentioned problems in electoral legislation and the decisions of the Central Election Commission which, as she assessed, have harmed both the constituent peoples and BiH as a whole.

However, the Speaker of the House expressed moderate optimism that the parliamentary commissions could be filled and the Council of Ministers of BiH established in the near future, after which the process of normal functioning and work of the new government on comprehensive reforms would be opened. Emphasizing that the most important task for Bosnia and Herzegovina is to preserve peace, stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Denis Zvizdić stressed today that our country faces key tasks related to approaching the European Union (EU) and activating the MAP as a step towards NATO membership. Zvizdić added that in the coming period, it is important to work on better regional cooperation and strengthening trust in relations with neighbors, and he highlighted the definitive resolution of border issues with Croatia and Serbia as a strong step forward in this direction.

As internal priorities, he highlighted economic development and added that key processes are moving in the right direction, but that further work needs to be done to remove limitations due to the current state of transport, energy, and digital infrastructure. Also, Zvizdić identified the fight against crime, all forms of extremism, and corruption as a very significant task.

According to Nebojša Radmanović, it is very important to work on resolving problems that are the result of a lack of democracy, and above all, understanding and accepting the right of others to view certain things and processes differently. Such tolerance, as well as patience in seeking generally acceptable solutions, he added, is lacking, and this also represents a problem in forming the government. In this regard, Radmanović called on the US to help in patiently seeking solutions in both BiH and Brussels, as well as in the processes leading to our country's EU membership.

Ambassador Nelson expressed hope today that a faster process of establishing government bodies will also contribute to a stronger focus of elected officials on numerous economic problems and reforms, and that political issues will remain in the background. He added that the US is ready to assist any discussion on reforms, and that the MAP issue represents a technical issue that will be resolved through active democratic dialogue. Ambassador Nelson also emphasized the need to use the upcoming Annual Meeting and Economic Forum of the EBRD, which is planned for May this year in Sarajevo, to send positive messages and signals from BiH to world investors and businessmen that will attract their attention to the Bosnian-Herzegovinian market and its potentials.