News in English     | 29.01.2020. 11:43 |

Zvizdić: We do not want a 'privileged partnership', but full EU membership

FENA Press release

BRUSSELS, January 29 (FENA) - Speakers of the House of Representatives and House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denis ZvizdiĆ and Dragan Čović, participated in a meeting of the Working Group of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament for the Western Balkans.

Addressing the participants, Zvizdić reiterated that for BiH, the EU and NATO integration and regional stability have no alternative, and that, with further democratization of society, building infrastructure and a society of knowledge, as well as strengthening the rule of law, are key conditions for democratic and economic development that will ensure better living standard and a peaceful and dignified life for BiH citizens.

“BiH is not a big country - it has 3.5 million inhabitants, but in the last year alone, we had more than 1.7 million tourists, in the last four years we had GDP growth of more than 3.2 percent, tens of thousands of jobs were created, we were the leaders in export in the region, and among the top ten most important foreign trade partners, seven are members of the European Union,” Zvizdić pointed out.

He said that economic processes record positive trends, but that this was not enough. BiH has reached certain limits and now it is necessary to get encourage from the EU to preserve that positive momentum.

Zvizdić recalled that more than 70 percent of BiH citizens remain committed to the EU membership, as there is awareness that European integration is the only and most effective instrument for strengthening political stability, for adopting European values, and a key impetus for economic prosperity.

“We do not want the so-called 'privileged partnership' with the EU, nor any regional initiative that would be a substitute for EU integration of BiH. We in BiH exclusively want full EU membership,” Zvizdić emphasized.

He stressed that BiH has been working hard to achieve this goal in recent years and that progress has been made that should result in obtaining candidate status.

Speaker of the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly Dragan Čović said in his address that BiH must make a step forward in the field of European integration, which has no alternative.

In the past year and a half, he stressed, BiH has been preoccupied with internal problems and challenges such as the establishment of government and legislative bodies.

But, he said, that period is now over and the new work dynamic needs to bring about intense changes in order to face what is ahead of BiH, including amendments to the Election Law.

Čović also addressed the rulings of the courts in BiH and Strasbourg, stressing that the Election Law must be amended in line with those decisions and that the changes are expected to be finalized by the end of March, and that the issue of elections in the City of Mostar must also be resolved.

“Divisions and misunderstandings must be set aside,” emphasized Čović.

Economic and political security in BiH must be ensured, he added, expressing his expectation that BiH would obtain a candidate status this year.

(FENA) S. R.

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