Grabar-Kitarović in Brussels on the situation in BiH

Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović met with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels to discuss the situation in Croatia, expectations from the new government, the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and relations with neighbors, reported Aljazeera Balkans.

Grabar-Kitarović stated after the meeting with Juncker that she specifically discussed the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

- I expressed concern about the latest developments and trends we are seeing in that country and asked Juncker and the Commission in general to focus more on BiH and to help that country not only in the reform process on its path to EU membership, but in organizing the country so that all three peoples, and of course in our case we are primarily interested in the position of the Croatian people, can truly be equal throughout the territory of BiH - said Grabar-Kitarović.

Regarding the recent referendum held in Republika Srpska, Grabar-Kitarović said that the Commission's stance is that the referendum is illegal and contrary to the Dayton Accords.
She emphasized that she expects the new Croatian government to deal much more with BiH issues.

- This is not only our constitutional obligation towards Croats in BiH, but also a national interest. We share a 1001 km long border with BiH, and the stability of that country affects the stability and perception of Croatia. So far, we have not sufficiently utilized the fact and position that we are now a member of the EU and NATO, that we are acting from a different position, that we are not a candidate country that has to explain our internal processes, but rather that now, as an EU member, we can strongly advocate here in Brussels for resolving issues within BiH - she said.

Change to the Dayton Agreement

President Grabar-Kitarović said that she also discussed the need to change the Dayton Agreement with Juncker.

- I personally believe that the Dayton Agreement has already been changed one way or another. With numerous amendments to the BiH constitution, we have moved away from Dayton. It is now necessary to focus on what has happened and how much these amendments have contributed to the erosion of the constituent equality of the three peoples in BiH because, I repeat, BiH is a specific country. In it, not only all citizens are equal, but also the three constituent peoples. At least they should be - she said.

She said that she believes "that in this regard we will also initiate discussions and initiatives with the USA".

- So far, I have discussed this with American and many European officials. Regardless of how the processes unfold, in any case, the current European initiative that exists, and I have emphasized this in London, cannot focus solely on economic and social processes, it must also be political. Therefore, since BiH is a sui generis case, certain conditions should be set that the country should fulfill in order to become fully functional and in that way not only progress on the path to EU and NATO membership, but truly organize political relations at the state level. This political content, the building of institutions, is extremely important and that is what is missing from the European initiative - said Grabar-Kitarović, reports AJB.