The European Union will not accept any challenges to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, nor any roll-back of reforms that have been undertaken to move closer to the European Union, High Representative for the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy Catherine Ashton and EU Enlargement Commission Stefan Fuele wrote in a column that appeared in Monday’s Dnevni Avaz, Nezavisne Novine i Vecernji List newspapers.
"We are disappointed that this year’s election campaign sounded like more of the same, rather than a fresh look to the future," Ashton and Fuele said in the article referring to the campaign before the 3 October general election.
"Perhaps election rhetoric is just that, and the EU will judge Bosnia and Herzegovina’s newly elected leaders on their actions, not on their words alone. But let us be clear: the EU will not accept any challenges to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, nor any roll-back of reforms that have been undertaken so far to move closer to the European Union," said the column clearly alluding to the secession rhetoric of the newly elected president of the Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik.
Ashton and Fuele called for speedy agreement on forming new governments, “to ensure properly implemented universal human rights".
The EU will continue vigorously and proactively to help the incoming authorities get the country back on the road of reform and progress leading to EU integration.
"To this end, we are working on a modified and reinforced presence of the European Union on the ground while implementing the Lisbon Treaty. This Treaty gives the EU one voice and one address in Bosnia and Herzegovina; that will make our cooperation easier, clearer and more efficient - not just with the local authorities, but also with the rest of the international community, which supports Bosnian progress," Ashton and Fuele said.
