President of the Republic of Srpska meets with delegation of the Political and Security Committee of the Council of the European Union

The President of the Republic of Srpska, Željka Cvijanović, met tonight with the delegation of the Political and Security Committee of the Council of the European Union in Sarajevo.

During the meeting in Sarajevo, the President of the Republic said that only candidate status for BiH could maintain the European integration process active.

“I was asked why I think we deserved it. I answered because I know very well when and at what stage some others gained the candidate status and what assessments they received at that time in terms of agriculture, public administration and especially the judiciary. I see that we are here at the same level as those when candidate status was granted to them”, said the President Cvijanović after the meeting.

The President of the Republic emphasized that the time should not be wasted on topics that are unattainable and that it is better to nourish the mechanism of coordination and that every level of government is doing its part of the job instead of imagining how something would once be transferred to the level of BiH.

The President Cvijanović stressed that she informed the EU delegation that, when it comes to forming the government after the elections, the work has been more or less completed in the Republic of Srpska and that it is now turn for partners from the Federation of BiH to do the same.

“We have an interest in establishing institutions as soon as possible, i.e. constituting the power at the level of BiH. I reiterated the determination of the Republic of Srpska to work devotedly on the European path. We have already proven ourselves in that respect. I expressed my satisfaction with our Reform Agenda and the fact that in the previous mandate we achieved some record indicators that resulted from the agreement and implementation of this agenda agreed with the EU”, said the President of the Republic of Srpska. The President also pointed out that the best indicators were achieved in terms of employment levels and added that, together with the Federation of BiH Prime Minister Fadil Novalić, she informed the delegation about the plans for future programmes that should keep young people in BiH.

“I am interested in continuing good practices in the Republic of Srpska”, said the President of the Republic, adding that she told the EU delegation that the Republic of Srpska often came to focus and was falsely accused, recalling the stories of paramilitary formations, militarisation, which were planetary news constructed, among other things, in Sarajevo within certain agencies along with some foreigners.

The President of the Republic of Srpska said that the security situation, the issue of migration and terrorism were discussed at the meeting and that she told the interlocutors that she was not satisfied with the communication between the different levels of government regarding the exchange of certain information related to potential threats.

The President Cvijanović pointed out that the Republic of Srpska was not satisfied with what was happening when it comes to the migrant crisis, fearing that BiH might become a collective centre and that this issue cannot be treated in such way.

“We expect clear messages from the EU and we shall move that way in the future period”, said the President of the Republic of Srpska and pointed out that the EU was interesting for migrants in terms of openness of its borders, but that BiH should take care of preserving its own borders in terms of controlling migration and preventing illegal entry into the country.

The President of the Republic of Srpska Željka Cvijanović noted that during the meeting the focus was on political and security issues, the results been achieved so far in terms of fiscal consolidation, economic trends, social sphere, with a special focus on youth.