SARAJEVO, October 7 (FENA) - Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency Chairman Željko Komšić spoke at a Belgrade-based Media Center as part of a session called "Diplomatic Dialogue", organized by the Ethnic Relations Forum.
Speaking on the topic "European Union, Western Balkans", Komšić said in his introduction that there was fear that the importance and strength of right-wing parties would increase within the EU after the last parliamentary elections, but fortunately this did not happen.
He estimated that liberal ideas are affected, but EU citizens chose stability, which is good for our region as well, the Komšić’s office stated.
“The EU will maintain its strategic commitments when it comes to enlargement to these areas and keep the same strategy, although this is not a priority for Europe,” said Komšić.
He said that BiH received the European Commission Opinion, but not the candidate status. He assessed the EC Opinion as a historical document because it outlined what BiH needs to do in order to become a serious candidate for EU membership.
Komšić expressed the dilemma of what to say to Europeans; whether to require the countries of the region to become members immediately or first to meet all European standards and only then to be accepted by the EU.
Talking about regional cooperation, which is demanded by the EU after all, Komšić said that cooperation should not exist just to prove something to someone, but for ourselves.
“It is my intention in Belgrade today to say that we in BiH and Serbia must get down to work and resolve outstanding issues that burden relations between the two countries, such as the border issue and the issue of harnessing the hydro potential of the Drina River,” said Komšić.
He called on all the officials of the region to help each other, because, as he stated, we have had a lot of quarrels so far.
“If the foundation stone that we are laying tomorrow is a new era in better relations, then it will be a big deal,” said Komšić.
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