Sattler on priorities: HJPC, Election Law, reforms

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Head of the EU Delegation and EU Special Representative in BiH, Ambassador Johann Sattler, said today that activities with the new Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina have intensified. He emphasized that the 14-month deadlock after the elections in BiH has been overcome.

He stated that there is a lot of goodwill in the European Commission regarding BiH. He also spoke about the priorities for this year.

"One of the concrete activities involves changes in the work of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) as one of the leading institutions in the judiciary. Here, we are focusing on assets and declarations of assets. I know that without the real engagement of the entire society and all citizens, the results will remain limited. What we have today, the situation we are facing, is not the result of events in the past two, five, or six years, but of events over the past 20 years, a gradual erosion of this system. But I remain optimistic," Sattler stated.

As he stated, the second priority is the Election Law.

"This year, we have another election cycle with local elections scheduled for October. If elections are not held in Mostar, they will overshadow the electoral process that will be held in all local self-government units. I am optimistic, I hope that this year we will finally reach the point where elections are held in every corner of this country," he conveyed.

The third priority involves BiH's economic capacity for EU membership, he stated.

"We have launched an extremely important reform, important for citizens, which is healthcare reform. A lot of funds go into healthcare, and the service received in return is not adequate. We are working on improving the business environment in BiH to make this country more attractive to investors. The issue of young people leaving the country inevitably needs to be addressed. Another topic these days is pollution. This is a matter of life and death. According to the latest World Bank report, there are around 3,300 premature deaths every year associated with poor air quality. This is an issue for every level of government," he said.

He recalled the moment he took over his current position.

"When I took over my position in September last year, I was moderately optimistic. I said that I believe that progress is possible in BiH both domestically and externally. I know there was a lot of skepticism, I remember my first press conference and a lot of skepticism I heard from media representatives. I am pleased to see that we have already made some progress. Agreement has been reached on security sector reform, NATO, and other reforms. Domestic leaders must roll up their sleeves and truly start working on reforms," said Johann Sattler, N1 reports.