Milan Bandić on supporting the representation of "Croatian cantons" in Brussels: I only want to help BiH

ZAGREB, (Patria) - Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the Croat people and President of HDZ BiH Dragan Čović announced the opening of a representation in Brussels which will, as he said, represent the cantons in the Federation of BiH where the majority Croat population lives.

Čović particularly thanked the Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenković and the Mayor of the City of Zagreb Milan Bandić, emphasizing that through their offices in Brussels they helped resolve administrative issues for the opening of a joint office from BiH in the seat of the European Union.

- We have secured the space, and we are now defining the way we will do it, and I think we will open an office in Brussels very soon, which will enable us, first and foremost, to present our European policy, communicate with the administration there, and enable connection with all those institutions that allow us to join major projects - Čović said.

Such announcements by Čović have caused sharp reactions from other political parties in the Federation of BiH. The President of SDP BiH Nermin Nikšić assessed that such a policy by Čović is a continuation, as he said, of the weakening of the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The President of DF Željko Komšić also criticized the President of HDZ BiH, pointing out that by opening the representation of "Croatian cantons", an attempt is being made to prepare the ground for the acceptance of Croatian and Bosniak entities within the Federation of BiH.

The President of SDP BiH Nermin Nikšić emphasized that he is particularly concerned that Čović's latest activities have the support of the official authorities of the Republic of Croatia.

From the office of the Mayor of Zagreb Milan Bandić, the agency Patria was told that the mayor's stance towards BiH remains unchanged.

"As a friend of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a Croatian son of Bosnia and Herzegovina and a friend of all three peoples in BiH, and in line with the current Croatian state policy, I only sincerely want to help Bosnia and Herzegovina on its European path," said Bandić.

Opposition parties in BiH with a Croatian affiliation also criticized Čović's announcements about opening a representation in Brussels, calling them politicking. The Croatian Party of BiH (HS BiH) announced that the leaders of HDZ BiH, as they stated, are not capable, nor do they want to, for the cantons where that party rules to make a concrete contribution through the coordination mechanism to speed up BiH's European path, so HS BiH also called Čović's announcements about opening the representation of "Croatian cantons" in Brussels false promises.