Sattler with Čović: Elections in Mostar must be held in October

MOSTAR, (Patria) – A press conference was held in Mostar by HDZ BiH President Dragan Čović and EU Delegation Head in BiH Johann Sattler after their meeting.

Čović said there is continuity in seeking solutions to accelerate BiH's European path, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. 

„I thank the EU for enabling us to be part of these integrations. We are involved in all activities regarding EU funds and other activities,“ Čović said. 

He added that today they discussed how „together we can carry out activities in the work of the executive and legislative authorities.“

„Because if we are not well organized after this crisis with the coronavirus and everything that awaits us, it will be difficult to cope with the already pronounced mistrust and all the problems that burden us.“

One of the topics was also the holding of local elections in October, and Čović said that if conditions for organizing elections are not created, it should be considered what to do in such a situation or how to hold them only in Mostar, given that they have not been held there for years.  

Sattler emphasized that the topics of discussion certainly included the Covid-19 pandemic, and today he also handed over equipment to the Prime Minister of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, Nevenko Herceg.

„The EU is here with you, working proactively, over 7 million euros have been allocated to meet medical needs. Along with saving lives, it is very important to restart the economy and business in the context of saving jobs and how to help companies and their further survival. The EU has allocated 70 million euros in grants for small and medium-sized enterprises, tourism is one of the hardest-hit sectors, and another part is 250 million euros in macro-financial assistance for BiH. This is support that will come as budget funds, noting that BiH is the largest beneficiary of funds. This is support due to the inevitable deficits you will record,“ Sattler said. 

Regarding the holding of local elections in BiH and this year in Mostar, Sattler said that this is the first priority among the 14 key EU priorities. 

„I took the opportunity to encourage Čović to find a solution for holding the elections, the right place is for agreement and harmonization in the Parliament, but also there is a ruling of the Court in Strasbourg that if there is no solution, the Constitutional Court can make a decision. I prefer that it be done through Parliament. We are talking about possibilities for citizens to vote in local elections this year in the city of Mostar as well,“ Sattler said.

The third topic discussed was European integration.

„An agreement was reached in the Presidency, and you have citizens who complain about the slow process of European integration. It is envisaged that this will be a process that should involve as many actors as possible, you will have that one political working group but also bodies from the coordination mechanism and the non-governmental sector,“ said the EU Delegation Head.

He said he invited Čović to be an active participant in this initiative, and that he considers him one of the strongest advocates of BiH's EU path. 

Sattler said that next Wednesday an EU summit videoconference will be held in Zagreb and that BiH is going prepared, and that is for a timeframe of two years.  

„The vast majority of citizens want to see this country as part of the European family, and I invite political leaders, young people and civil society to still get involved,“ Sattler said.