Distinguished Speakers of Parliaments,
Excellences,
Ladies and gentlemen, Dear friends,

Good morning.

First of all, I am delighted to be with you here today at this important event for Bosnia and Herzegovina. The EU is very proud to fund the Hungarian-French Twinning programme on strengthening the role of parliaments in BiH.

I believe that this Twinning Programme will bring together Bosnia and Herzegovina's Parliaments with institutional peers from EU Member States in a manner that will result in partnerships that can last beyond the lifetime of a project and eventually throughout a country's accession process. The Twinning Programmes are therefore very lasting ways of assistance.

I believe that this Twinning Programme will underline the importance of institutional co-ordination in light of Bosnia and Herzegovina's EU integration aspirations.

As such, we see this Twinning Programme as one of our flagships in assisting the Parliaments of Bosnia and Herzegovina becoming ready for the challenges ahead.

As we all know, it is often a long and winding road to EU membership and it is often not a simple one.

The EU's legal framework is extensive and it is still growing.

For example, in negotiations with the candidate countries, during the fifth enlargement process, the body of EU legislation made up in total around one hundred and twenty thousand (120,000) pages of regulations.

And the Parliaments are the ‘core’ of this process.

It is the Parliamentarians that are the ‘local leaders’ in transposing these very many pages of EU regulations.

Therefore, it is the Parliamentarians that must and will play a proactive and very important role in adoption of all EU regulations.

For such a process to succeed in an efficient and expedited fashion, this requires a maximum and co-ordinated engagement. We believe that as a result of this Twinning Programme we will see such quality level of coordination emerge.

In addition, co-ordination among the Parliaments and with executive authorities is crucial.

This general point of coordination within Bosnia and Herzegovina has been on the EU agenda for quite a while.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina the latest Progress Report of the European Commission made note of this important point.

For Bosnia and Herzegovina with as many as 14 different Parliaments we do operate at times with a complex system that will be faced with a large challenge when it come to the adapting a significant body of EU rules and regulations.

Therefore, the EU Commission called for a mechanism that would enable this country to speak with ‘one voice’ on EU integration matters.

Such a mechanism should create a framework for all legislative and executive bodies involved in the process to fully have their say in a co-ordinated way that allows them to work together effectively.

It should be a mechanism that provides the European Union with a ‘single address’.

In addition to create the basis for the necessary coordination amongst Parliaments in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the European Union also have advocated for the development of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Programme for EU Integration.

We believe that well-coordinated work of the Parliaments in Bosnia and Herzegovina will plan a crucial role in the development of such Programme document.

Such a document should have clear timelines and be accompanied with practical guidelines for the co-ordination of the legislative activities at all levels.

Bodies established by the Interim Agreement, which monitor the reform process, often face challenges because of inability of local actors to agree on common positions when talking with the EU.

In fact, we have most recently seen the cancellation of various important Sub-Committee meetings between the European Union and Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is unprecedented in the history of EU integration. It is a trend that we need to see changed in order for the EU perspective of Bosnia and Herzegovina to stay alive.

Time is passing by. Other countries in the region are moving ahead. We would like to see Bosnia and Herzegovina move with them.

One way of assisting in doing so is through today's Twinning Programme that we now officially launch.

Let me therefore sincerely thank the Representatives of the Hungarian and French Parliaments for their readiness to share their knowledge and expertise with colleagues in Bosnia and Herzegovina and for being with us today.

I am personally convinced that parliamentarians in Bosnia and Herzegovina will make good use of expertise put at their disposal.

Thank you for your attention.

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