The CDPD Director Aida Daguda believes that the three agreements on mobility are very important because they allow citizens in the entire region, all six countries of the Western Balkans, to move freely, using only an identity card, but also free movement in the academic sector and the movement of the workforce.

"We believe it is very important that this event is taking place in Sarajevo. We decided with our organizers to bring the Berlin Process here and to talk from the perspective of the citizens," she said.

She explained that the Berlin process is a political process that prepares and leads the entire region towards membership in the European Union.

"It is really a process that lasts quite a long time, and BiH is one of the obstacles on the way to the implementation of these agreements. All six countries have signed these agreements on mobility, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia have not yet ratified the agreements," she clarified.

Daguda claims that there are political obstacles in BiH, and that the President of the RS, Milorad Dodik, has stated that he will not allow Bosnia and Herzegovina to sign and ratify those agreements.

"That is why we are sending a message that it is very important for the quality of life of citizens who have decided to stay here," she concluded.

The Head of the Delegation of the European Union, Johann Sattler, said that they gathered at the conference to monitor the state of ratification of the three agreements on mobility that were signed last year at the Summit in Berlin.

"In one month we expect a new summit and we hope that we will have the opportunity to see that all these agreements have been ratified," he pointed out.

He emphasized that integration in the region and integration with the European Union are two things that go hand in hand and are not two separate processes.

"I want integration to happen as soon as possible and for 18 million people to have a single market, and for countries to show that they can cooperate with each other. We have a special momentum, we opened negotiations with Albania, soon we expect to open them with North Macedonia," he said.

He announced that the President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, will come to Bosnia and Herzegovina in October to announce a new aid package, but that it is not just money.

"We expect progress regarding regional integration and certain reforms on the domestic front, especially regarding the rule of law," emphasized Sattler.

He pointed out that the issue of the ID-only mobility agreement remains as the only one that is not ratified by BiH, as five other countries have made progress in ratifying that agreement.

"All that remains is for Bosnia and Herzegovina to resolve that issue. It is particularly burdensome because the only remaining visa regime in the region is between BiH and Kosovo and it hinders 10,000 people who need to travel between BiH and Kosovo," said Sattler.

The executive director of the Center for Policy and Management, Adis Muhović, said that Bosnia and Herzegovina is unfortunately at the back of the process. 

"There is no consensus in BiH regarding these three agreements and we are the only country where the process is separated. The three agreements do not go together. The agreement on freedom of movement is on one side, and the other two agreements on the recognition of qualifications and diplomas are on the other side," he said.

He claims that it has little to do with government structures, but with whether Milorad Dodik has the power or not.

"He is a person who applies the tactic of blocking all the most important political decisions and then uses them as a deposit in negotiations or sells them as political favors. In this case, Milorad Dodik is definitely the person who decided to block the agreement on freedom of movement with identity cards in the region," he said.

The agreement on freedom of movement with identity cards, he said, was basically designed to improve relations between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo.

"And that would be important for our economy, given that Bosnia and Herzegovina has strategic interests in Kosovo, which it cannot use in the right way at the moment due to the blockade and the visas," he said.

The head of the political department of the Council for Regional Cooperation, Amer Kapetanović, called on the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina to use this month until the summit of the Berlin Process in Tirana, which takes place on October 16.

He claims that the Berlin process is currently the best framework for regional cooperation.

"The chances are great, especially in the new political context, bearing in mind the fact that the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced a new plan for the phased accession of the Western Balkans to the European Union," he said.

He pointed out that on the one hand, there is the advocacy of the Open Balkan, and on the other hand the Berlin Process.

"Both the Open Balkan and the Berlin Process are actually indicators that the region is ripe for cooperation, which is very important. The Berlin process is older and it is inclusive. All six economies of the Western Balkans participate equally in it. The Open Balkan was created on a different basis. But what is advocated in the Open Balkan and what we have in the Berlin process are complementary, not to say the same," explained Kapetanović. 

 

 

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(FENA) S. R.