High Representative and EU Special Representative Valentin Inzko held separate meetings today with Member of the BiH Presidency Nebojsa Radmanovic and Chairman of the BiH Council of Ministers Nikola Spiric.

These were part of a series of meetings the HR/EUSR has held with senior politicians in recent weeks, focusing in particular on the importance that the election campaign should discusse how to take Bosnia and Herzegovina forward towards euro-atlantic integration.

In his meeting with Mr Radmanovic, the HR/EUSR noted that Bosnia and Herzegovina’s successful application to take part in the NATO Membership Action Plan has been a longstanding aspiration of all the major parties and represents a significant step towards NATO membership – which has the overwhelming support of citizens. He stressed that the condition set for implementing MAP, relating to apportionment of immovable Defence property, needs all the more to be solved urgently.

Describing the trilateral summit in Istanbul as “a significant step in the right direction,” the High Representative and EU Special Representative underlined that the European Union was built on dialogue, mutual respect, and regional cooperation in matters of common interest, which “is what the Western Balkans should be striving to achieve”. The HR/EUSR stressed that constructive dialogue between BiH and Serbia is expected to bring major benefits to the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina in terms of enhanced economic activity and stability.

The HR/EUSR’s meeting with Mr Spiric focused on finding a speedy resolution to the issue of allocating state property to the appropriate government level so that each tier of authority has the resources it needs in order to carry out its duties to the public. This is one of the remaining requirements set by the PIC before closure of the OHR will be possible.

The HR/EUSR expressed appreciation for the efforts Mr Spiric has made in the past to resolve this issue. However the HR/EUSR stressed that the way forward now is for every state-level institution to identify the property it currently uses and that which it will need to use in the future, and he urged Mr Spiric to introduce a decision initiating this process to the Council of Ministers.

In his meetings with both Mr Radmanovic and Mr Spiric the HR/EUSR reiterated his comments to other senior party leaders in recent weeks, calling on them to use the election campaign as a platform for advancing creative ways in which Bosnia and Herzegovina’s problems can be resolved, so as to revive the economy and move the country forward.