Member of the European Parliament Željana Zovko participated today in Strasbourg in a debate on the Report on Bosnia and Herzegovina 2018.
Zovko saluted the Croat and Serbian political representatives of BiH for the agreement reached on Sunday in Mostar to speed up the process of forming the new Council of Ministers according to recommendations given by the High Representative Mogherini and Commissioner Hahn after the BiH October elections.
Zovko further urged the Bosniak constituent community to summon up courage and join the effort of forming the Council of Ministers, especially considering the fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina was facing a burning migrants crisis, predominantly in the Bihać Canton.
“It is utterly disturbing to listen to the Bosniak leader Komšić threatening the Republic of Croatia and I sincerely hope he will soon stop addressing a member of the European Union in such a way. I expect as much help as possible from you, from Brussels, so that BiH may finally cross over from the Dayton phase to the Brussels phase, considering that the Dayton Agreement has been infringed long ago and the Brussels phase has not started yet.”
The Progress Report of Bosnia and Herzegovina 2018 was adopted on 6 February 2018 in the session of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. The Report appeals to implementation of the key constitutional, electoral and political reforms, so that BiH may advance on its path to the EU.
MEP Zovko s amendments were included in the BiH Report, appealing to adoption of the Election Law in line with the Constitutional Court rulings and to formation of the House of Peoples of the Federation of BiH in line with the Court ruling, referring to the statements of the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Mogherini and Commissioner for Neighbouring Policy and Negotiations on Enlargement Hahn.
Zovko stressed the importance of coming to a compromise on forming the government, which must reflect the principle of legitimate representation of all constituent peoples, already mentioned in earlier resolutions of the European Parliament.
Furthermore, Zovko pointed out to the importance of implementation of a range of reforms, including changing the Election Law in line with the Constitutional Court rulings in order for Bosnia and Herzegovina to become an effective, inclusive and functioning state.