Bosnia and Herzegovina: S&D Group Members participating

Press statement on the European Parliament Delegation for Relations with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo: Members of the European Parliament Call for Decisive Change in BiH Politics

The European Parliament Delegation for Relations with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo met for the 12th interparliamentary meeting with the BiH Parliament Joint Committee on European Integration. S & D Group Members participating in this visit were: Mrs. Kinga Gönc, Mrs. Tanja Falon, Mrs. Maria Muniz and Mrs. Jutta Steinruck.

The EP Members welcomed Bosnia and Herzegovina's efforts to meet the requirements for visa liberalization and to continue these efforts. They expressed the hope that BiH political leaders will now achieve the same positive results in other key areas where Bosnia and Herzegovina urgently needs to make progress, in particular:
- harmonisation of the BiH Constitution with the European Convention on Human Rights before the next elections, and
- transition to increased local responsibility for the political process by completing the 5 plus 2 agenda which would help pave the way for Bosnia and Herzegovina to become an EU candidate country.
Overall the Members of the European Parliament reiterated that constitutional reform remained the key reform to be achieved in Bosnia and Herzegovina to become an effective and fully functional state.

The EP Members expressed deep concern about the spread of poverty in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the wake of the global economic crisis and also as a result of the absence of political focus on urgently needed economic reforms. They called on the BiH authorities to fulfill all the requirements of the IMF programme, which is a condition for continuing financial support for Bosnia and Herzegovina from the European Commission and the World Bank; in addition BiH should implement the economic reforms which have been agreed under the European Partnership and the Stabilisation and Association Agreement.

The EP Members made it clear that the increasingly strident nationalist rhetoric which has again become part of BiH public discourse is entirely at odds with European values, and is directly hindering Bosnia and Herzegovina's prospects for securing EU membership. They condemned any effort to challenge the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina and expressed full support for the High Representative/EU Special Representative, calling on all parties to comply with all Decisions issued by him.