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SARAJEVO, June 23 (FENA) - Members of the Joint Commission for European Integration of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH PA) met today with Head of the EU Delegation to BiH and EU Special Representative to BiH Ambassador Johann Sattler and discussed continuation of the European integration process.
Emphasizing the importance of the role of institutions, especially the BiH PA, in the process of European integration of BiH, Ambassador Sattler appealed to state parliamentarians to accelerate work to meet 14 key priorities from the Opinion of the European Commission, the BiH Parliamentary Assemby stated.
Ambassador Sattler especially pointed out several issues, which he assessed as possible to resolve in a short time and thus send a significant message from BiH to official Brussels.
The Head of the Delegation and the EU Special Representative to BiH mentioned the adoption of amendments to the BiH Election Law that would enable holding of elections in the City of Mostar; establishment of the Stabilization and Association Parliamentary Committee (SAPC) as a joint parliamentary body of the BiH PA and the European Parliament, and adoption of the Rules of Procedure of the SAPC; adoption of the Law on Conflict of Interest; adoption of the new Law on Public Procurement, and adoption of amendments to the Law on the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) of BiH.
Ambassador Sattler reiterated that BiH, like all other countries in the Western Balkans, has a clear European perspective, which he said would be confirmed by gaining candidate status and opening negotiations on BiH's EU membership if progress is made.
During the meeting, members of the Joint Commission for European Integration of the BiH Parliament thanked Ambassador Sattler for the great assistance provided by the EU to BiH in combating the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as for the constructive role in resolving elections in the City of Mostar after 12 years.
They emphasized that a precise Action Plan has been adopted for the implementation of 14 key priorities from the Opinion of the European Commission, of which, as it was said, some of the key priorities can be realized by the end of September or the middle of October this year at the latest.
In this regard, the parliamentarians paid special attention to the formation of the SAPC, emphasizing that a solution to the issue could be agreed by the end of this week.
Ambassador Sattler also informed state parliamentarians about the second phase of EU assistance after the coronavirus pandemic, in which 70 million euros will be provided for the recovery of the BiH economy.
Emphasizing the fact that the EU was in a situation to directly help BiH agriculture for the first time, with 20 million euros, Sattler stressed that the EU, with adoption of appropriate strategic documents, can provide significant assistance to the tourism sector, as a branch of the economy which has a huge development potential in BiH.
(FENA) A. B.
