Komšić: NATO remains primary, while EU, due to ignoring Strasbourg rulings, secondary priority

(Patria) - Željko Komšić today assumed a new term as a member of the BiH Presidency. He said he addresses with a sense of sincere pride, gratitude and responsibility towards the high office he is assuming.

"The trust of the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, given to me in the elections, I understand as an obligation to represent all those democratic values that we as citizens cherish and that we as a state preserve.

I take this opportunity to thank my colleagues from the previous term of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Šefik Džaferović and Milorad Dodik, for their cooperation.

My performance of the duty of a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina entrusted to me will be devoid of partial party and any individual or group interests. The election to this position, that is, the Constitution of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, obliges me to an equal attitude towards all citizens of our country. Such an attitude is also my personal commitment, not just a constitutional obligation.

All activities that I undertake as a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be aimed at the unity of the state and in accordance with its priorities defined by the decisions of the institutions of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The feeling of belonging to this country as our common good, its difficult but glorious past, faith in its future, faith in the generations to come, is my motivation, to work in the general interest of all citizens and in the interest of the state, together with everyone, to try to make this region a place of more pleasant living, a place of hope and a place of realizing the dreams of the best among us.

The citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina can be sure that I will spare neither myself nor those I have chosen to work with daily on that goal.

At this same place four years ago, taking the oath for the past term, I said that I would not miss the opportunity that might arise to unblock the process of NATO integration through the activation of the MAP.

That opportunity arose, and it was used by submitting the Reform Program to NATO headquarters in Brussels, which was first sent by the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina and then by the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina. I can proudly say that I am satisfied with that fact.

Therefore, I also use this address to emphasize that I will again not miss the opportunity to do everything in my power, and beyond, to take, as a state, the last step towards full membership of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the NATO alliance if such a possibility becomes likely, because membership of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the NATO alliance is the primary foreign policy priority.

The destruction of the implementation of the 14 priorities from the Opinion of the European Commission on the candidate status for membership of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the European Union, and the gross ignoring of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, unfortunately threatens to make the European path of Bosnia and Herzegovina a secondary foreign policy priority, given the scale of violations of European standards and principles, especially regarding the equality of citizens before the law and the Constitution.

For my part, I will make all necessary efforts and use all mechanisms provided by the Constitution so that the perspective of Bosnia and Herzegovina's membership in the European Union is not permanently destroyed.

In this, I will need the support of all well-meaning citizens and political options in Bosnia and Herzegovina who still believe that Bosnia and Herzegovina's membership in the European Union is among the primary foreign policy priorities.

Respecting the Constitution of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, I take the opportunity to remind of its evolutionary nature, that is, the fact that the Constitution itself provides for the possibility of upgrading to a system of full democracy and all its values.

This is precisely what we are obliged to do by fulfilling the priorities from the Opinion of the European Commission, which are the best tool for achieving equal rights for all citizens.

No one can take away from the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina the right to democracy, and I will resolutely oppose all such attempts because I am obliged to do so by the trust placed in me by all those people who believe in a democratic Bosnia and Herzegovina.

As a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, I will strive to keep Bosnia and Herzegovina on the foreign policy front within the United Nations on the side of those states that respect international law and the principle of inviolability of internationally recognized borders, in short, on the side of a democratic and civilizational order opposed to any form of aggression and violence.

Taught by its own historical experience, Bosnia and Herzegovina will continue, through the United Nations, the Council of Europe and other international associations, to be that state political entity that will not take a neutral stance on issues of conflict between civilization and anti-civilization.

For our neighbors, I have only one but simple message. We will respect you as much as you respect the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Bosnia and Herzegovina owes nothing to anyone, and many owe a lot to it. The time of all sorts of justifications is over, just because we want and wish to live in a normal, peaceful and prosperous state.

The state of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its institutions will certainly be a reliable regional partner to all those who want peace, economic and any other social development through the relevant international agreements we have signed in the past period.

Personally, as an official to whom citizens have again given their trust to represent them in the highest state institution, I will remain committed to the idea of equality of all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, regardless of their ethnic, religious or other identity origin, as well as the values of anti-fascism on which the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina was built.

In me, as a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, all citizens can find a faithful ally in advocating for such values, as well as an ally in the fight against all forms of corruption and nepotism.

My intention is to finally deliver the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the choice between a feeling of love for the homeland and a feeling of systemic injustice. I will invest all my energy and integrity in building a just state in which there is a place for all its citizens," said Komšić.