Brussels, 23/07/2004 (Agence Europe) - Before completing his three day visit in the Balkans, Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot took part in the inauguration of the Mostar town bridge in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The rebuilding of the Stari Most bridge, which was destroyed in 1993, forms a real link between the Muslim and Croat Bosnian communities and was possible thanks to the financial aid of a number of Member States, including the Netherlands. On the occasion of its official reopening, Mr Bot said that the prospect of Bosnia-Herzegovina joining the EU will depend on the effort made by Bosnia and that "full and complete collaboration with the ICTY will remain an essential criteria in the eyes of the EU". Before specifying that "when we speak of a European future for Bosnia-Herzegovina and other countries of the region, we imagine a situation in which the Bosnians, Croats, Serbs and Albanians will have learnt not only to be critical toward the others but also toward themselves". Also present in Mostar on the occasion of a trip to the Balkans were the Commissioner for External Relations, Chris Patten, considered a "healthy process" has begun this year as a "number of excuses expressed for crimes committed in the Balkans". He then stressed that the "EU cannot escape its share of criticism. We should have done more to help you - more and sooner. I deeply regret that we have not done so".