Komšić at IFIMES: NATO is the smartest path, EU should support its own standards, not Soviet ones in BiH

(Patria) - Chairman of the BiH Presidency Željko Komšić was a guest of the International Institute for Middle Eastern and Balkan Studies in Ljubljana during the official visit of the BiH Presidency to the Republic of Slovenia.

Chairman Komšić spoke on the topic "How to make Bosnia and Herzegovina a better, more prosperous, and more attractive place to live?"

In his address, Chairman Komšić paid special attention to the current process of NATO integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Chairman Komšić emphasized that Bosnia and Herzegovina must move towards NATO, as that is where it belongs as a state in terms of civilization, and that this is also the smartest path.
 
Komšić stated that citizens are leaving Bosnia and Herzegovina primarily due to the prevailing uncertainty, and that political elites must resolve this uncertainty. Speaking about the NATO integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chairman Komšić also recalled the former stance of the Russian Federation on this issue, stating that the Russian Federation, through its Minister of Foreign Affairs, has conveyed that it will respect Bosnia and Herzegovina's will to join the NATO alliance if that is Bosnia and Herzegovina's choice.

Chairman Komšić also spoke about relations with the Republic of Slovenia, emphasizing that the Republic of Slovenia is an ally of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is ready to be an advocate in positive processes if necessary.

Chairman Komšić assessed the relations within the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina as sincere, adding that they are sincere even when there are disagreements between the members of the Presidency. Komšić also touched upon the current approach of the European Union towards Bosnia and Herzegovina, stating that European norms, equality of citizens, human rights, and what the European Union promotes must be accepted, and not neo-Soviet principles and standards. He assessed that the European Union should help Bosnia and Herzegovina to adopt the standards that exist in the EU, and that it insists on these principles in BiH.

Speaking about regional relations, Chairman Komšić pointed out that there is a dialogue partner in Slovenia, while unfortunately, there is no real dialogue partner in Croatia, and with Serbia, there are only problems at the level of NATO perception, it was announced from the Cabinet of the Chairman of the BiH Presidency.

Regarding the current migrant crisis, Chairman Komšić emphasized that the European Union must have a unified strategy towards the migrant crisis because all migrants in BiH come from EU countries, and they are all people who must be treated as such, and not beaten or robbed.