Brussels, 04/09/2012 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission and the Council of Europe called on Bosnia-Herzegovina on Monday 3 September to respect its commitments taken on 27 June in the roadmap for the country's accession to the EU. They regret that the European Parliament was not presented, as planned, on 31 August with the amendments to the Constitution to make it compatible with a decision of the European Court of Human Rights (Sejdic and Finci judgment on minorities). In a joint press release, Commissioner for Enlargement Stefan Füle and the secretary general of the Council of Europe, Thorbjorn Jagland, called the Bosnian leaders “to uphold their responsibilities and to work together to implement the decision of the Court of Strasbourg (European Court of Human Rights) to fulfil the country's commitments to the Council of Europe and move the European integration agenda forward”. “The EU roadmap remains valid. The objectives will change, and the Sejdic and Finci judgment has to be executed”, they added.
Füle and Jagland also regretted that, in their opinion, these issues are less important for the leaders of Bosnia-Herzegovina than political rivalries. “The citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina deserve better”, they said.
Maja Kocijancic, the spokesperson for High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton said the leaders should fulfil their obligations and do the necessary to take forward the programme that has been fixed. She added that she is waiting to know more on the different tasks and the dates on which these tasks will be carried out. (CG/transl.fl)