President of the Republic of Srpska meets with the European Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations
The President of the Republic of Srpska Željka Cvijanović is on a visit to Brussels, where she met with the European Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn.
The President Cvijanović said that without a formed government, BiH cannot hope for funds from the EU budget earmarked for the Western Balkan countries, which will be significantly higher than they were in the previous period.
“These meetings are taking place exactly one year after the general elections in BiH, and we have not yet formed a government at either the Federation or the level of BiH”, said the President Cvijanović.
“This is certainly an aggravating element in communications and in negotiating over certain issues, because expectations, of all people in the EU, are aimed precisely at BiH fulfilling its obligation, which is quite logical and normal, and it implies that the government is formed, that they have an interlocutor who will have the authority and the capacity to negotiate certain things”, said the Republic of Srpska President, stressing that the Republic of Srpska wants to move on a European path and has prepared its institutions for the process.
The problem, said the President of the Republic, is that significant funds are earmarked for the Western Balkans in the preparation of the EU budget, and BiH has no one who would represent it.
“The frustration comes from the fact that you do not have an interlocutor to discuss things. I said, as for the Republic of Srpska and IPA assistance and all other things related to those aspects, that we have teams that will work on that, but again the answer is negative if you do not have a government formed at the BiH level”, it was added by the President Cvijanović.
