Zvizdić wrote to Plenković: Border and corridor to the open sea, and only then the Pelješac Bridge

The Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denis Zvizdić, sent a letter to Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, informing him that no authority in Bosnia and Herzegovina has ever given formal consent for the construction of the Pelješac Bridge, and Zvizdić also states in the letter that determining the state border on land and sea is a necessary condition for such a project to be realized at all.

"I invite you to hold a meeting at the expert and executive level as soon as possible and consider possible models for resolving this issue to mutual satisfaction," Zvizdić told the Prime Minister of Croatia.

Deputy Speakers of the House of Representatives and the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, Šefik Džaferović and Safet Softić, previously sent a letter to the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, requesting a halt to the construction of the Pelješac Bridge until the dispute between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia is resolved.

The letter requests the European Commission to mediate between the two countries in such a way that Bosnia and Herzegovina first gets free access to the open sea, after which Croatia can consider the possibilities of building the bridge.

The construction of the Pelješac Bridge in the Malostonski Bay, with which Croatia wants to connect the Dubrovnik-Neretva County with the mainland, would close Bosnia and Herzegovina's access to the open sea, which would be a violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Denis Zvizdić also reminds the Croatian Prime Minister in his letter of facts such as that the state border agreement signed in 1999 was never ratified, and therefore has no legal significance, and that the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted a conclusion in 2007 opposing the construction of the bridge until open border issues with Croatia are resolved. No act has been adopted since then to change or annul that conclusion.

A novelty in Zvizdić's letter is the interpretation of the meaning of the document titled "Agreed Minutes" from the meeting of expert groups appointed by the Council of Ministers and the then government of Croatia, held in 2006, which addressed technical issues related to the construction of the Pelješac Bridge.

"I believe you are aware that the verification of the positions taken at that meeting from the Bosnian-Herzegovinian side is conditional on their approval by the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was stated in point 5 of the mutually initialed minutes of the meeting. The Council of Ministers, of which the Croatian Government was informed, has never given its consent to the so-called Agreed Minutes, i.e., the positions of the expert groups," wrote Zvizdić, thus stating that the agreement on the dimensions of the bridge, which should ensure the access of ships to the Neum Bay, is also invalid.

Zvizdić concludes that it is clear that no authority in Bosnia and Herzegovina, within its constitutional powers, has given consent to accept or sign any document with Croatia regarding the construction of the Pelješac Bridge.
In order to resolve the emerging problem in the interest of both countries, Zvizdić proposed taking steps to agree on the overall demarcation between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, with a focus on the maritime border line.

"The swift and successful ratification of the State Border Agreement between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia would be the best confirmation of mutual commitment and positive political will for good past and future neighborly relations based on respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, mutual respect, and adherence to the norms of international law," reads Zvizdić's letter to Plenković, Patria reports.