“Bosnia and Herzegovina longs for politicians who understand that Europe is here, in this country, and that BiH needs to become part of the European Union as soon as possible”, the Ambassador of the Czech Republic in BiH, Jiří Kuděla, whose country currently presides over the European Union, told the website www.reci.ba in an exclusive interview.

The Ambassador explained that there is still no visionary in BiH who would make Europe his political portfolio, not only verbally, but also by acting on his words. He expressed his disappointment that “every agreement, every attempt to reach an agreement is here immediately criticised by somebody, it is destroyed and underestimated, and added that “spite can be charming in daily life, it brings fun to your neighbourhood, but it is not good to behave in such a way in politics.”

The Czech Ambassador announced that Bosnia and Herzegovina and the whole region would be a key topic at the informal meeting of EU Foreign Ministers at the end of March in Češke Budejovice. „We will have a very serious discussion between the European Union and representatives of the region about all key issues, and, if necessary, the Czech Republic is ready to organise new extraordinary meetings and discussions.”

Asked whether Bosnia and Herzegovina could be left out of the package of measures that the EU is preparing for the Western Balkans, including visa liberalisation, Kuděla said that the Czech Presidency endeavours to keep BiH on track for the whole package, but that this depends primarily on the country’s progress in various fields, such as the security of personal documents and other conditions from the EU “Road Map”.

Ambassador Kuděla also stressed the important role of the media in stabilising and “Europeanising” Bosnia and Herzegovina. He put particular emphasis on the responsibility on public broadcasters and their journalists, who have to be ready “for all challenges of contemporary journalism and objective reporting”.

Speaking of the appointment of the new High Representative and EU Special Representative in BiH, Kuděla expects that the appointment process might be completed by the end of March. He recalled that the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council has still not concluded that all conditions have been met for OHR-EUSR transition, and that the future EUSR will therefore continue to act also as the High Representative.

In his exclusive interview for reci.ba, Ambassador Kuděla also explains why Czech investors are considering to withdraw from the Gacko project worth 1,5 billion euros, why another investment of 25 million euros has failed on Jahorina Mountain, and why Bosnia and Herzegovina is being asked not to apply for EU membership…

Answers to these and other interesting questions are available on www.reci.ba.