Nezavisne novine: Brussels – BiH has to focus on the European priorities and not to let other issues steal its attention, has been said yesterday by Javier Solana, the High Representative of the EU for Common Foreign and Security Policy.
After the meeting with Miroslav Lajčak, the High Representative in BiH, and Nikola Špirić, the chairman of the Council of Ministries of BiH, he said that the main priority for the country is applying the SAA and overcoming the temporary paralysis in institutions. Solana has repeated that he expects from Špirić to help discussions in the country focus on the questions of the EU which is in the best interest of country and all its citizens. He also said that 2008 was a good year for Bosnia, and that signing the Stabilisation and Association Agreement has marked the most significant qualitative change of relations of BiH with the EU. In the meeting, Špirić has informed Solana on the situation in BiH and expressed the hope that BiH will get a positive grade for achieved progress in 2008, stating the need to move towards the process of the Constitutional Reform and performing the population census in 2011.
Špirić has added that BiH needs to solve the questions of the state property and future status of the District of Brčko, so the process of transition of the OHR to the office of the special representative of the EU can be eased.
Lajčak has during the meeting repeated that the EU has many times proved its willingness to accept BiH into its membership and it is up to politicians, through concrete activities, to fulfill demands stated by the EU.
“Those are not difficult tasks and their fulfillment can only contribute to development of the whole country for benefit of all citizens. European future is a goal which has been supported by more than 80% of citizens of all nationalities in BiH, and in order for it to be successful, this has to be a joint project of all the aspects of society”, Lajčak has said.