Brussels, 20/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 19 June, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina signed three bilateral agreements on border issues. Croatia will become the EU's 28th member state on 1 July.
The first agreement is on the border crossing points along the border which is over 1,000 kilometres long. This agreement is fully in line with the demands of the EU regarding the control of people and goods at borders, and it facilitates the exchange of goods from Croatia and the EU with Bosnia and Herzegovina. The second agreement on local border traffic will enable citizens living in an area of a maximum distance of 5 kilometres from a joint state border to cross in easier conditions than normal. This second agreement provides for a revision clause to extend the border area up to 30 kilometres.
Lastly, Croatia's Minister for Foreign Affairs Vesna Pusic and Bosnia's Chairman of the Council of Ministers Vjekoslav Bevanda signed a joint interpretative note on the Neum-Ploce agreement which ensures smooth transit traffic across the Neum corridor. Bosnia and Herzegovina will benefit from a special transit arrangement of the EU which will allow it to continue exporting its agricultural products of animal origin to third countries via the port of Ploce in Croatia. “Such derogations are extremely rare”, said Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Füle. He added that the transit of citizens from the EU across the Neum corridor will also be facilitated.
Elsewhere, reiterating that Bosnia and Herzegovina's trade arrangements with the EU must be adapted to take account of Croatia's accession to the EU, Füle called on Bosnia and Herzegovina to resume negotiations with the European Commission in order to conclude a trade protocol to adapt the stabilisation and association agreement. The next negotiations will take place on 25 June. Füle called on Sarajevo to accelerate its work to reach approval from the EU for exporting agricultural products of animal origin to the EU. This requires the administrative control structures to be in line with European food safety standards and an efficient control and command chain at all levels, Füle said. (CG/transl.fl)