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THESSALONIKI, March 26 (FENA) - Bosnians and Herzegovinians know that the status of a candidate country for EU membership is more symbolic, and a kind of motivation for the BiH authorities, but we are all aware that this is a consequence of Russian aggression against Ukraine, said the Managing Director of the Federal News Agency (FENA) Elmir Huremović at the panel entitled "The Western Balkans' Path to Europe" which was held as part of the annual conference of the Association of Balkan News Agencies (ABNA) in Thessaloniki.
"Bosnia and Herzegovina is a specific country because its constitution is still a chapter of the Dayton Peace Agreement, but Bosnia and Herzegovina can be a model for the EU because it is a multinational, multicultural country.
We are a heart-shaped country, in the very heart of Europe, and the term Western Balkans, I personally do not like because it seems to me that it was imposed precisely with the aim of defining a separate entity that does not seem to belong to Europe," Huremović pointed out.
He also asserted that even within the EU there is a lack of sincere desire for BiH to become a member of the Union. Unfortunately, he added, there is often not enough understanding for Bosnia and Herzegovina because they put demands before the politicians that are almost impossible to fulfill.
"It is difficult to expect from politicians who clearly say that they do not love this country, in the same way as we were told in 1992, who honor Putin and support Russian aggression, that they want Bosnia and Herzegovina as a stable and functional state. At the same time, changes to the election law and the constitution are being imposed which distance us even further from EU regulations. Therefore, there is a certain amount of skepticism towards the candidate status, due to the awareness that the candidate status is not a guarantee of accession because we have countries that have been waiting for it for a couple of decades, but the feeling of satisfaction prevails," said Huremović.
Answering questions about the reflections on Bosnia and Herzegovina deriving from the Russian aggression against Ukraine, Huremović said that at the beginning there was a certain fear among a large number of citizens.
"We were worried and sure that the aggression would start other processes from the east similar to the ones we survived 30 years ago, but the heroic defense of Ukraine stopped it in a certain way. The threat is still there and you can feel that concern when you talk to people. Bosnia and Herzegovina is the field of activity of the intelligence services of many countries. The messages sent out about the support for Russian aggression make people very nervous," said Hurenović.
He warned of the danger posed by propaganda and the spread of misinformation, as well as the neglect of solving problems in BiH as opposed to Kosovo or Ukraine. He again emphasized the importance of real EU support for the stabilization and progress of BiH as a modern and functional state.
"I think that we have profited as far as the candidate status is concerned, but I also think that it will be in vain if we do not receive quality support," concluded Huremović, speaking in Thessaloniki at the panel entitled "The Western Balkans' Path to Europe" which was held as part of the annual conference of the Association of Balkan News Agencies (ABNA).
Apart from him, the speakers on the panel were the Vice President of the European Commission Margaritis Schinas, Professor Giorgos Christidis, Honorary Ambassador Alexandros Mallias and the Editor-in-Chief of the Greek state news agency ANA-MPA, Dimitris D. Manolis.
(FENA) S. R.
