prijava
SARAJEVO, March 28 (FENA) - Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn said today at a press conference in Sarajevo that he had the opportunity to talk with the mother of David Dragičević and the father of Dženan Memić, and that it was important for him to get direct information on all the events and circumstances from those who are most directly affected.
“Our colleague Reinhard Priebe is coming to BiH next week. He is a retired German judge who helped us work in Albania, but also in North Macedonia to improve the judicial system. The report he did on Macedonia is still current, and is directly linked with the issues of improving the rule of law, improving the quality of work, independence and the expertise of the judicial system,” said Commissioner Hahn.
That is why, he added, we wanted to talk to everyone and "get direct information from the affected families".
He noted that he had an opportunity to talk with civil society organizations that are active in the field of environmental protection this morning, because, he said that the state of the environment in BiH is, to put it mildly, unsatisfactory.
“We will additionally address these issues. I would say that perhaps the Block 7 of the Tuzla TPP is a call to awakening. I agree that things cannot be changed overnight. The whole issue of electricity production is inevitably linked to a significant number of jobs, especially in the Tuzla basin. But independently, I am firmly convinced that meeting the climate goals, and all that concerns climate are things that countries like BiH have to deal with,” said Hahn.
He added that this is a matter of urgency as BiH is dealing with outdated technologies and change is very much needed.
“Of course, I'm just wondering if these technologies would really be updated while at the same time you are retaining the same characteristics of electricity generation. Few weeks earlier in Podgorica, we had a meeting of ministers in the field of environmental protection and energy sector and we spoke about the issues of renewable energy sources,” said Hahn.
Western Balkans, says Hahn, has 16 coal-fueled power plants that pollute more than 250 similar thermal power plants in the EU.
He pointed out that these are issues "which we must inevitably have to deal with", and that there are many things to do and which the EU can do.
“A balanced and gradual approach is needed. We do not ask anything do be done overnight," Hahn said.
He says he learned that the authorities stopped subsidizing the wind farms and electricity produced by wind farms, "but in fact it should be the opposite that such things are subsidized."
“We in the European Commission are working hard to develop opinions based on the responses provided by the national authorities. Our goal is to publish an opinion on BiH by the end of May, and something that is very clearly stated on my part, provided that the authorities are formed, not only at the level of BiH, but also at the level of the Federation of BiH.
We need this because we have to have interlocutors on the other side, we have to have authorities that will continue to work on these issues,” said Commissioner Hahn when asked about the announced opinion of the EC on the responses submitted by BiH to the EC Questionnaire.
In his words, the opinion is only a transition phase, "the more important the stage is the work on the implementation of all those reforms."
He also mentioned the issues in the health sector, and said that BiH is a country with the largest allocations per capita in the region for the health sector.
“When we talk about the effectiveness of health care, it is not the most successful. These are all some of the issues that we have to deal with together. I hope that various political entities will soon be in line with these priorities, and that this part of energy efficiency of the energy sector will also be included in the aforementioned socio-economic measures," Hahn said.
He says he asked the domestic authorities in a technical mandate to resolve some of the issues that he would say were urgent. He cited an example that for two years the EU has been waiting for the appointment of a contact person for EUROPOL on behalf of BiH. He added that this should not be a major problem, "but we've been waiting for two years for this to happen."
“Speaking about migration, we have a certain number of migrants present in the country, but we also believe that this is the number that can be managed. We are at disposal to provide support, both financial and in terms of managing this situation. But on the other hand, we need a very clear structure of competencies between different levels of government. We are still faced with a confusion that needs to be tackled in order to improve the situation,” says Commissioner Hahn.
Also, he spoke BiH’s potential and long-awaited accession to the World Trade Organization, saying that "this will only be possible when regulations on fuel quality are adopted".
“I am usually an optimist, but you know how it is in life, it takes two to tango. On our side, I can only confirm the readiness for each form of support. It is our primary purpose to improve the lives of citizens in BiH, to help them stay in their country, to have jobs and help the progress of this beautiful country,” said Commissioner Hahn.
(FENA) S. R.
