Čović and Zvizdić Submit Questionnaire, Juncker Says Europe and BiH Go Together

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Chairman of the BiH Presidency Dragan Čović and Chairman of the BiH Council of Ministers Denis Zvizdić handed over the responses to the EC Questionnaire to the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker.

In his address, Čović said he is grateful to everyone for having the opportunity today to submit the responses to the EC Questionnaire. He emphasized that more than 1,000 people answered over 3,000 questions and that this is an indicator that the Coordination Mechanism has been fully harmonized.

- This is a huge job, we worked on it for 14 months. In the last six months, we have brought this job to a close. More than 1,000 representatives of BiH participated, and every next step of ours towards the EU, to which we are committed, will make it easier for us to work faster. BiH today holds its European path in its own hands - said Čović.

He pointed out that it is clear to all citizens of BiH that this job primarily depends on those in power.

- The elections in October will not slow down our path, on the contrary, we will accelerate it. Two years ago, we submitted the application for membership, and at that time everyone convinced us that we had done it prematurely. I am sure that this visit of yours can be an encouraging act, that in the next month and a half we will also adopt the amended electoral legislation. I am convinced that we can already create a new agenda today - said Čović.

He added that next week, at the trilateral meeting of the delegations of BiH, Serbia and Croatia, issues with our neighbors regarding the border will be opened, because none of us can move forward unless this is resolved.

Juncker said in his address that from today, Europe and BiH will go together.

- This is an important day and I want to pay tribute to all those who were involved in this enormous job. You had six months to respond and that is a big job. You had 35 working groups and I am impressed by the work done. It was truly a stress test and now you have seen what the daily work of European officials looks like. The essence is more important than the date. I cannot tell you the date when your country will become a candidate; if there are additional questions, we will present them to your services and we will go step by step. One must distinguish speed from haste; we will do everything to remain friendly - said Juncker.

The submission of the EC Questionnaire was attended by representatives of BiH political life, as well as representatives of the international community and the diplomatic corps.