“BiH politicians will be asking for a new mandate in October and therefore they must use the coming months to demonstrate what they intend to achieve with it,” High Representative and EU Special Representative Valentin Inzko said today.

The HR/EUSR was speaking during a meeting in Sarajevo with BiH Minister for Civil Affairs, Sredoje Novic, part of a series of meetings with BiH leaders and political party officials.

Highlighting the successful adoption of 174 requirements related to visa liberalisation in recent months, the HR/EUSR said that this proves that Bosnia and Herzegovina can actually make progress.

The HR/EUSR thanked Minister Novic for assuring the speedy issuance of biometric passports, which was one of the requirements for visa liberalisation, noting that so far almost 130,000 have been issued. The HR/EUSR underlined that the same resoluteness and determination now needs to be applied to the task of implementing long-awaited economic reforms that would allow for progress in reviving the country’s flagging economy. “With over half a million unemployed, what the citizens of this country are interested in is job creation,” said HR/EUSR Inzko.

The HR/EUSR stressed that the International Community is ready to give its full support to reforms that will move the country’s Euro-Atlantic integration process forward.

“The citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina understand and appreciate European values and one of the reasons they elect their leaders, is to get them closer to the EU,” said High Representative and EU Special Representative Inzko.