Third Stabilisation and Association Council meeting held in Brussels

BRUSSELS, (Patria) - Chairman of the Council of Ministers of BiH Denis Zvizdić, along with Deputy Chairman, Minister of Finance and Treasury Vjekoslav Bevanda, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Igor Crnadak, attended the Third Stabilisation and Association Council meeting between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Union in Brussels, where the European perspective of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a single and sovereign state was reiterated. EU and BiH officials discussed progress in key political, economic, and legal criteria, as well as the implementation of the reform agenda.

Addressing the attendees, Chairman Zvizdić expressed sincere satisfaction with the fact that regular meetings within the joint bodies between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Union further confirm the full commitment to continuing and intensifying regular dialogue and cooperation between Bosnia and Herzegovina and its most important strategic foreign policy partner - the European Union.

The Stabilisation and Association Council noted the progress of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the European integration process following the submission of the membership application to the EU in February 2016, as well as the Council Conclusions of September 2016, which call on the European Commission to deliver an opinion on the merits of the application submitted by Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Stabilisation and Association Council welcomed the establishment of the coordination mechanism on EU-related issues and the preparation and submission of answers to the European Commission's Questionnaire as key activities in the EU integration process.

It was highlighted that a number of strategies have been adopted in the past period, demonstrating the credibility and clear commitment of all BiH institutions that European integration remains the primary goal of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Stabilisation and Association Council welcomed BiH's initiative to resolve the issue of combating terrorism and the continuation of activities in preventing and combating radicalization, as well as its removal from the FATF "grey list" as part of the fight against the financing of terrorism.

Regarding the migrant situation, the importance of enhanced cooperation with the EU and neighboring countries on border management and improving cooperation between security agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina was reiterated at today's Stabilisation and Association Council meeting.

The strategic commitment to continuing the integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina into the European Union was also confirmed in the BiH Foreign Policy Strategy for the period 2018-2023, adopted by the BiH Presidency.

The Stabilisation and Association Council also called for continuous alignment with EU declarations and Council decisions regarding foreign and security policy.

"We greatly appreciate the cooperation so far and the genuine support we have from our partners in the European Union, and in that regard, I would particularly like to welcome the adoption of the EU's Credible Enlargement Perspective Strategy for the Western Balkans, as well as the fact that the issue of enlargement is once again high on the EU's priority list, which has been formalized by a series of extremely positive events for the entire region, and for my country, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The EU-Western Balkans Summit in May this year is an extremely important signal to all countries in the region in the process of joining the EU that our European perspective is unquestionable and certain.

At the same time, we are fully aware that accession and the ultimate goal - full integration into the European Union - is a two-way process, and that we are all obliged to take significant steps in implementing the necessary reforms, especially in the area of adopting and implementing the entire body of EU law, standardizing and strengthening our economies to prepare for participation in a highly competitive and strong European economic market, improving our administrative capacities, and particularly intensifying efforts and reforms to strengthen the rule of law and combat corruption, as well as all forms of organized crime and terrorism," said Chairman Zvizdić during his address.

"I am truly pleased with every progress that the region, and each country individually, makes on its path of European integration, as well as progress on the path of integration into NATO, because this leads our region and our societies towards a more stable, prosperous, and advanced society," said Chairman Zvizdić, adding that the fifth Western Balkans Summit within the Berlin Process, which addressed very important topics that need to be implemented to ensure progress and improve regional cooperation, was of exceptional importance.

"We place the improvement of economic cooperation at the forefront of our partnership relations, ensuring all necessary preconditions for the economic growth and development of the region. However, our cooperation should not be limited to this area alone, but should encompass all social spheres, and in that regard, pave the way for healing the wounds of the past and turning towards a common future that must be based on truth, honoring all victims, acknowledging crimes, ceasing the glorification of war criminals, ceasing the use of hate speech, and finally, reflecting on the mistakes made to ensure that our young generations live in a society of complete tolerance, mutual respect, prosperity, and peace.

I am extremely pleased that this year's summit in London has taken concrete steps in this direction by adopting a series of very important joint declarations signed by all participants of the Berlin Process," said Chairman Zvizdić.

"As for Bosnia and Herzegovina, my country is continuously working on fulfilling its task on the European path. True, not at the pace we would be fully satisfied with, but despite the evident stagnation caused by the overall political situation and the fact that we are in the midst of an election campaign, certain progress is still being made, and we are managing to place certain things, such as the preparation of answers to the European Commission's Questionnaire, above daily political events and ensure the necessary cooperation and commitment to achieving this very important goal for us.

We handed over our initial answers to the President of the European Commission, Mr. Juncker, on February 28th this year, and activities are currently underway to prepare answers to the additional questions we received from our partners in the European Commission.

We are aware that this is not the only aspect in the process of acquiring the desired candidate status, and that in parallel, we must continuously work on implementing all necessary reforms. However, I am extremely pleased that the European Union has correctly recognized that by emphasizing certain stages in the pre-accession and accession process, it allows focus and attention to be maintained on constructive topics, given that we are witnessing almost daily attempts to turn the countries of the region towards other, less positive processes and destabilizing influences from other regional and world powers," emphasized Chairman Zvizdić, and referred to Bosnia and Herzegovina's commitment to fulfilling the obligations from the recommendations for priority areas covered by the enlargement policy, which include the rule of law, public administration reform, human rights and fundamental freedoms, fight against corruption, fight against organized crime and terrorism, as well as economic governance and competitiveness.

"Our key activity in 2017 in the EU integration process was ensuring the effective functioning of the Coordination System of the European Integration Process in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the preparation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's answers to the European Commission's Questionnaire.

After a functional Coordination System of the European Integration Process was established in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which ensures the participation of all levels of government in Bosnia and Herzegovina in all established bodies, which decide by consensus, which have held more than 80 meetings and involve more than 1300 representatives of ministries, institutions, and other administrative bodies from all levels of government, the answers to the Questionnaire were submitted on February 28, 2018.

After the European Commission provided additional questions, the bodies within the Coordination System immediately began working on preparing the answers. We expect the work dynamics to proceed smoothly in the coming period, and all necessary activities and responsible parties have been identified for the preparation of the answers," emphasized Zvizdić.

He stressed that BiH remains committed to further strengthening the rule of law at all levels. He stated that a certain level of readiness has been reached, particularly regarding the judicial system, as well as in the fight against corruption and organized crime.

"In order to effectively and harmoniously combat corruption, Bosnia and Herzegovina has undergone two important processes in the past period. The first related to the establishment of anti-corruption bodies at all levels of government, and the second to the obligation of these bodies, i.e., all levels of government in BiH, to develop their own sectoral strategies for combating corruption. We have submitted the draft of the new Law on Prevention of Conflict of Interest in BiH Institutions to the parliamentary procedure, and the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina has adopted the Strategy for Combating Organized Crime in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the period 2017-2020," said Zvizdić.

Chairman Zvizdić also stated that BiH is continuously working on improving the situation in the area of human rights. "We are committed to abolishing segregation and discrimination in education, protecting freedom of speech, improving the position of Roma and LGBT populations, and preventing violence against women. We have drafted the new Gender Action Plan of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the period 2018-2022," emphasized Zvizdić.

Speaking about the current migrant situation, Zvizdić said that intensive work is being done to increase capacities for migration management, especially in the part dealing with vulnerable groups. In this regard, Bosnia and Herzegovina is working on establishing a mechanism for the return of illegal migrants in accordance with the standards and policies of the European Union.

He also stated that it is encouraging that Bosnia and Herzegovina participates in cooperation mechanisms and programs with European Union institutions and agencies, such as the program with FRONTEX, in order to strengthen cooperation and partnerships to find common answers to this issue, which is truly global in nature and as such requires close and coordinated cooperation.

He also highlighted the fact that at the plenary session of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in Paris, forty countries unanimously decided to remove Bosnia and Herzegovina from the FATF "grey list." It was concluded that Bosnia and Herzegovina has rectified the deficiencies in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism in accordance with FATF recommendations, thus creating the conditions to be removed from the "grey list" and placed on a regular reporting regime.

"Considering the long-standing political, economic, and cultural ties with neighboring countries, Bosnia and Herzegovina is strongly committed to establishing good and friendly relations with its neighbors. Intensifying relations with them and regional cooperation in general, both bilaterally and multilaterally, is an important aspect of strengthening stability and security, which contributes to increased trust and understanding in the region and is a prerequisite for all other forms of cooperation.

The path towards improving bilateral relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina with other countries, especially neighboring ones, also involves resolving all open issues in mutual relations. Improving relations in the region is also necessary due to the increasingly evident need for stronger regional and European security cooperation, including joint action on migration flows, combating terrorism and violent extremism, combating organized crime and illegal arms trafficking, combating cyber threats, and joint regional energy and transport policies. Furthermore, Bosnia and Herzegovina is very committed to further strengthening cooperation with the EU in the area of common foreign and security policy," emphasized Zvizdić.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is progressively striving to align its foreign policy with EU foreign policy to the greatest extent possible, particularly regarding adherence to EU statements, declarations, and common positions, including restrictive measures, which is directly related to the implementation of Article 10 of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement. In addition, it was highlighted during the address, based on the Agreement between the EU and BiH on establishing a framework for BiH's participation in EU crisis management operations, members of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina have been participating in the European Union Training Mission (EUTM) in the Central African Republic since July 2017.

"Regarding economic criteria, we have adopted the Report on the Implementation of the Economic Reform Program for 2017, and the Action Plan for the new Economic Reform Program 2018-2020. The Fiscal Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina has adopted the document "Global Framework of Fiscal Balance and Policies in Bosnia and Herzegovina 2018-2020," said Chairman Zvizdić.

He added that the Reform Agenda at the level of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina is being implemented in accordance with the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Reform Agenda, which contains 34 measures. Twenty measures have been fully implemented, 8 measures are being continuously implemented, while the remaining six measures are in the process of implementation.

In his address, speaking about bilateral relations within the framework of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, Chairman Zvizdić said that Bosnia and Herzegovina is fully committed to the implementation of the Agreement and the fulfillment of the obligations arising from it.

At the end of his address at the third session of the Stabilisation and Association Council, Chairman Zvizdić stated that the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina will remain committed to working on further progress towards EU membership as one of its priorities, and expressed hope and expectation that upon completion of the process of drafting the Opinion on BiH's membership application, very soon after the general elections in BiH, they will receive positive signals from the EU through the granting of candidate status for membership.

"In the coming period, we will continue to remain committed to fulfilling our tasks. I sincerely hope that we will succeed in overcoming the rhetoric of division and stagnation that, unfortunately, arises in the run-up to the elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I hope, for the benefit of our citizens, that we will put topics on the agenda that will improve the business climate and ensure the attraction of foreign investment in BiH, an environment that will show clearer results in the fight against corruption and all forms of organized crime, and the fight against terrorism and violent extremism.

The challenges ahead are not simple at all, but I want to emphasize once again that for Bosnia and Herzegovina, there is truly no other path than integration into the European Union, primarily because EU membership implies high and quality standards in all spheres of society, and for the citizens of my country, it implies an improvement in living standards and quality of life. For the Western Balkans, integration into the European Union is primarily a process of stabilizing the region, and consequently, improving economic and socio-economic conditions.

It is of vital importance for my country that, before the end of the mandate of this European Commission, in the spirit of the enlargement topic and the encouraging messages and signals we are receiving from the EU, we secure the next stage in the European integration process. We have the support of the citizens in this commitment. More than 75 percent of surveyed citizens throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina want membership in the European Union.

At a time when the Union is facing many external, as well as internal challenges, we hope that our commitment and expressed desire for accession to the Union, as well as that of the region as a whole, will be properly recognized, and in that regard, we welcome the encouraging messages and decisions of the institutions and prominent officials of the European Union," said Chairman of the Council of Ministers of BiH Denis Zvizdić.