European High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and European Commissioner for Enlargement began their first official visit to BiH today in Sarajevo, where they met with officials and representatives of civil society organizations.
Mogherini and the commissioner for European neighbourhood policy and enlargement negotiations, Johannes Hahn, met members of Bosnia’s tripartite presidency, the prime minister and chiefs of key political parties to see if there is the political will to move forward on key reforms after the nationwide elections in October.
“It’s about very concrete results, tangible results implementation. This is what Bosnia and Herzegovina’s people would like to see,” Hahn explained.
Mogherini said that the issues discussed will be presented to EU ministers at the December 15 session of the EU Council and that afterwards, Brussels officials and Bosnian politicians will work out what action needs to be taken.
Speaking to press after their meetings, HR Mogherini said that the EU would not lower or change its standards to accommodate BiH. “The conditions remain the same and they will not change in future. We can talk about the change in the sequence of priorities, i.e. about how to improve the approach to certain issues, such as social and economic reforms and the functionality of the country.”
