CVIJANOVIĆ: EU HAS LOST SOME OF ITS APPEAL AND NO LONGER INSPIRES CONFIDENCE

SARAJEVO, JUNE 10 /SRNA/ – The Serb member of the BiH Presidency Željka Cvijanović said that today's European Union is weakened, no longer projects confidence and should demonstrate a greater degree of understanding for the needs of BiH.

Cvijanović said she has always supported EU membership and continues to approach the issue rationally and realistically, but noted that the Union today is not the one she once hoped to join. "It is very different due to circumstances that have emerged on the broader European and global stage. The EU has been weakened by the very fact that there is a war on its continent, strained relations with many partners, problems related to energy and supply chains and difficulties faced by citizens because of rising prices," Cvijanović said. She expressed regret that the EU has not shown a higher level of understanding for BiH and voiced concern that BiH would not be viewed as a credible partner within the Union. They should have helped BiH preserve the diversity that exists within the country while promoting what they once advocated - unity of purpose despite differences. That part has not been achieved, Cvijanović pointed out. "I share with citizens and businesspeople the frustration over increasingly complicated procedures at border crossings," Cvijanović stated. She argued that one of the EU's major shortcomings has been the number of missed opportunities to establish itself as a serious diplomatic actor. "To be a diplomatic actor, you must genuinely use the mechanisms of diplomacy. The most important of these is communication and the willingness to maintain dialogue at all times. At the moment, the EU is focused on what it is doing with Montenegro and Albania, while other countries have largely been left aside," Cvijanović said. She expressed confidence that there are ways for the EU to accommodate BiH's complex structure, emphasizing that the essence of the European project has always been, and will remain, alignment with EU legislation and its consistent implementation. "European directives never prescribe a methodology. They define objectives, the environment that must be created and the level of reform that must be achieved. Whether this is accomplished through one institution, three institutions, five levels of government or a single level of authority is not specified anywhere," Cvijanović stressed. As an example of political disagreements and the lack of consensus, she cited the issue of state property, arguing that it had already been resolved under the Dayton Peace Accords. "Many claim that the southern interconnection project cannot move forward without resolving the issue of state property. However, property issues were already regulated by the Dayton Agreement. We carried out privatization based on the territorial-functional principle because that was what international representatives instructed us to do at the time. We should remember that there were two privatization processes in the two entities, governed by two separate laws that addressed the matter in a similar manner," Cvijanović said, adding that all such issues should continue to function according to the territorial-functional principle.