News in English     | 28.02.2018. 12:09 |

Juncker commends BiH's work on responding to the EC Questionnaire

FENA Hana Imamović

SARAJEVO, February 28 (FENA) - Bosnia and Herzegovina's Presidency Chairman Dragan Čović and BiH Council of Ministers Chairman Denis Zvizdić handed today to the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker the responses to the European Commission's Questionnaire for the preparation of the Opinion on BiH's application for the EU membership, at an official ceremony in Sarajevo at which Mr. Juncker described this day as important for BiH and Europe.

Mr. Čović stressed that responding to the Questionnaire was a mammoth task that took about 14 months, taking into account the conditions of operation in BiH, because the first few months was spent in establishing the functioning of the Coordination Mechanism.

More than 20,000 pages were answered, Mr. Čović recalled, and the responses, he said, have been agreed upon in their entirety. More than 1,000 BiH civil servants worked on this task, and Mr. Čović believes that this is a proof that the systems of harmonization are well-established. He expressed the hope that this will facilitate every next step on the road to the EU, but that the work will be done faster and more efficiently.

He thanked Mr. Juncker and other friends of BiH in the European Union because BiH now has the European path in its hands, and if there are sufficient understanding and unconditional commitment, BiH can catch up with the countries that are now ahead of it on the road to the EU.

“I hope this climate ahead of the parliamentary elections will not block our activities but accelerate everything that is in the European agenda for obtaining the candidate status. We are aware of the procedures and we know that there is no such thing as a free lunch, but we have to continue doing what has been done in the last three or four years,” Mr. Čović said.

He also says that this is an encouraging day for all those who make up the government, to send a message that joint work can be done, including on the adoption of election legislation.

The European Commission President noted that this was an important day for BiH and for Europe and he commended all those involved in the task of responding to over 3,000 questions in such a short time, as BiH has practically had six months to respond to the EC Questionnaire.

“A large number of civil servants worked on that task. I am impressed with the quality of the work that has been done. You see now what the European officials are doing every day, and you are ready for the future phases,” Mr. Juncker said.

However, he particularly emphasized that the essence of the responses was more important than the date and therefore he could not tell at this moment on which date BiH would become a candidate state, but he has announced that the responses will be analyzed and that he would determine whether additional questions are needed.

“We will go step by step. The essence is more important than the date and distinction should be made between speed and haste. This was a serious task and we will continue to have a friendly attitude,” Mr. Juncker concluded.

Today's event was to supposed be attended by the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, but due to the weather conditions, her plane could not land in Sarajevo from Brussels.

 

(FENA)
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