Still visiting the countries of the Western Balkans, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, met the Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Borjana Krišto, on Friday 25 October, before heading for neighbouring Serbia, where she held talks with the President of the Republic, Aleksandar Vučić.
In both cases, the visit was an opportunity to demonstrate the European Commission’s commitment to the EU accession process for the Western Balkans: the leaders were able to discuss the reform agendas and the Growth Plan for their countries, as well as the progress still to be made towards a European future.
Sarajevo must finalise its reform agenda. The only country in the Western Balkans not to have had its reform agenda validated by the European Commission (see EUROPE 13510/19), Bosnia-Herzegovina has also had to cope with several major floods, which required the intervention of European civil protection.
“We have decided to release €20 million in immediate aid. Then, in the next stage, the Solidarity Fund will support you in rebuilding”, said the President of the European Commission.
The Chairwoman of the Bosnian Council of Ministers then spoke of her country’s progress on the reform agenda and the Growth Plan, and the work still to be done: “We were also informed of the other three requirements, namely visa policy alignment, anti-corruption measures and budget monitoring or audit. We will take care of these as soon as possible”.
With the sixth Western Balkans summit scheduled for 5 December, Sarajevo hopes “that by then the reform programme and the growth plan will have been adopted”.
In Belgrade, Russia’s shadow. Later that day, Ursula von der Leyen met the President of the Republic of Serbia in Belgrade. Mr Vučić has recently drawn criticism for showing closeness to Vladimir Putin and reiterating his refusal to implement EU sanctions against Russia.
“We had a long, full and frank conversation”, he said. “We know that the EU has criticisms of Serbia, but Madam President has always been prepared to listen to us. And as long as I am at the head of this country, the road to European integration will always be one of Serbia’s objectives”, he asserted.
As for the reform agenda adopted by the Commission, Mrs von der Leyen described it as “excellent”, describing Serbia as “one of the most advanced countries in the integration process”.
Asked about Serbia’s relations with Russia, the President of the European Commission reaffirmed that “Serbia’s place is in the EU” and that this State visit demonstrated this desire for closer ties.
Ursula von der Leyen will visit Kosovo and Montenegro to round off her visit to the Balkans on Saturday 26 October. (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)