The European Commissioner for Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi, was in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, for the third High-Level Political Forum, which he co-chaired with Borjana Krišto, President of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
This forum was an opportunity to examine the efforts and reforms put in place by Bosnia and Herzegovina to validate the necessary steps on the road to European Union integration in the context of the European Council’s decision to open negotiations for the country’s accession to the EU (see EUROPE 13376/2).
At the end of the Forum, the European Commissioner expressed his satisfaction with the day’s discussions, highlighting in particular the reforms carried out by the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina: “We have strongly emphasised today that we need the political goodwill of all the country’s institutions to help implement the growth plan and the reform programme”, he said.
Olivér Várhelyi also stressed that the EU could adopt the negotiating framework quickly, provided that the country implements the measures set out in the Commission’s recommendation of 12 October 2022 (see EUROPE 13314/1).
Ms Krišto, for her part, reiterated her country’s commitment to reform and to the European path, despite the recent legislative initiatives under discussion in the National Assembly, which the EU considers detrimental to the country’s constitutional order and fundamental freedoms (see EUROPE 13394/30). (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)