15/12/2016 (Agence Europe) – On Thursday 15 December, Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn and the president of Bosnia-Herzegovina's Council of Ministers Denis Zvizdić signed the "Protocol to the Stabilisation and Association Agreement [SAA] between the European Communities and their member states, of the one part, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, of the other part, to take account of the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union". The protocol provides for a technical adjustment of the SAA's trade arrangements on imports and exports between Bosnia-Herzegovina and the EU in order to take account of Croatia's accession to the EU, and to prevent disruption to bilateral trade. This adaptation of the SAA is one of the conditions for Sarajevo being able to obtain EU accession candidate status. Bosnia-Herzegovina initialled the protocol on 18 July 2016 (see EUROPE 11597). (CG)