Brussels, 23 June – Member of European Parliament Doris Pack discussed the process of EU integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina with a delegation of non-governmental organisations from the country. Representatives of  youth NGOs ‘Proni’ from Brcko, ‘Under the same sun’ from Jablanica, ‘Centar’ from Mrkonjic grad, ‘Vijece mladih’ from Konjic, and ‘Europlus’ from Doboj shared their expectations and concerns about the country’s progress towards the EU.

The NGOs presented their key recommendations from widespread public debates held in BiH during spring this year in partnership with other NGOs from BiH, under the patronage of the EU Special Representative (EUSR) in BiH and the Czech Republic‘s Presidency of the EU. “We call on our authorities to heed the needs of their citizens, and speed up their work on delivering the EU requirements,” stated Jasmin Jasarevic, the representative of ‘Proni’. The focus of the recommendations, all stemming from the Stabilisation and Accession Agreement, as well as the European Partnership, was placed on the areas of education, employment, visa liberalisation, statistics, social inclusion, environment, energy and agriculture.

Doris Pack commended the NGOs’ critical engagement in promoting the BiH European perspective, and fully endorsed the need for a faster progress in those areas. Last week the same recommendations were presented to the Chair of the Council of Ministers of BiH, Nikola Spiric, as well as to the public. “BiH political parties should make EU issues the central feature of the country’s general elections next year,” said MEP Pack. “This is essential if the country is to accelerate on its European path”. The NGOs expressed their interest to continue and monitor the BiH authorities’ performance on the EU agenda.