Strasbourg, 5 July 2022
The European Parliament discussed today the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina ahead of the vote on the annual report on the country. Vice Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the European Parliament Željana Zovko underlined the importance of the discussion. “We are discussing whether the Dayton Paris Peace Agreement should be respected, or if the country should enter in another crisis.” Zovko stated.
Zovko referred to the meeting that will happen in Brussels tomorrow with the leaders of the Croats, Serbs and Bosniaks from Bosnia and Herzegovina and stressed the need to make progress on the electoral reform. “Unfortunately the elections will happen without electoral reform. But will we afterwards enter into a deeper crisis or will the elections mark the continuation of peace, the continuation of a long road towards the European Union, or will the country keep its semi-sovereign status?” Zovko concluded.
With a wide support of other members, Zovko tabled an amendment to the final version of the report on Bosnia and Herzegovina that makes a reference to the Strategic Compass. This guideline of the EU’s foreign and security policy for the upcoming years, underlines the importance of the security in the Western Balkans and calls for support of the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, based on the principles of equality and non-discrimination of all citizens and constituent peoples as enshrined in the Bosnia and Herzegovina constitution.
Before, Zovko already managed to introduce paragraphs that call for the implementation of the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights and the Ljubić case of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and she introduced the call to reach an agreement on reform of the Election Law. Based on her proposal, the report stresses that no discrimination should take place in the opportunities for all citizens to be represented in the public sphere. “European security cannot be guaranteed without stability in the Western Balkans. This includes the preservation of peace and the functioning of every state in the region. As strong defender of the rule of law, the European parliament should promote the respect of the Dayton Paris Peace Agreement and the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and encourage the correct implementation of the decisions of the constitutional court.” Zovko commented.
In addition, Zovko succeeded in expressing the Parliament’s concern over the lack of availability of media content in all official languages and the respect for cultural and language diversity in education programmes and Zovko calls for better absorption of funds by local and regional administration.