There are too many politicians in Bosnia and Herzegovina who prefer their own people's interests over the interests of the country, said member of the European Parliament (MEP) Tanja Fajon, adding that the policy of compromise and cooperation is crucial for Bosnia.

Speaking for N1, Fajon said Bosnia made some progress in reforms but that there was still a lot to do. “I expect more motivation,” she added.

Fajon arrived for an official visit to Sarajevo on Tuesday, where she held a meeting with members of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), one of Bosnia's two semi-autonomous entities, to discuss reforms and the country's efforts on the road to the European Union (EU).

“Today was an important day for me, I had a chance to talk to important actors in the state. I would like to be an optimist. I always say, optimism solves problems. Bosnia and Herzegovina achieved certain progress when it comes to reforms and the reform agenda, but there is a lot to do,” said MEP Fajon, adding “I am sure there are sincere politicians, but also those who are not. I have heard today too many of those who said ‘I am here to protect interests of my entity and people’, and I expect them, as citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to protect interests of whole Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

Bosnia and Herzegovina formally applied for the EU membership in February 2016 and was, as a part of the process, to provide answers to over 3,000 questions from the European Commission's Questionnaire. After submitting the answers in February 2018, the country has recently received some 600 follow-up questions to clarify the ambiguities from the answers it previously provided.

According to Fajon, this is not a “make-up exam” but a request for additional explanations. Also, she emphasized, the follow-up questions should be answered by the October election.

Speaking about the relations between Bosnia and Croatia, she assessed that significant progress was made over the past 20 years in terms of the overall relations in the region. However, she expressed concern over the inflammatory rhetoric.

“I'm afraid that nationalism and populist rhetoric are on the rise. Young people are leaving Bosnia, the region. Cooperation matters, all nationalist rhetoric and divisions are not useful,” she stressed, adding that Bosnia and Croatia must do everything to solve their open issues.

Commenting the situation with migrants that Bosnia has been struggling with since the beginning of the year, Fajon said she was aware of several thousand migrants who are “in transit” and that this situation required financial sources.

According to Bosnia's state institutions, several thousand migrants entered the country since the beginning of the year, finding a temporary shelter to, as they say, their final destinations in the western Europe. The country has been coping with the problem of their accommodation and the lack of border police officers, who would control illegal attempts to cross the border. Although the majority of the migrants expressed intention to seek asylum, they left the country before they did. According to Bosnia's Security Minister, no persons been granted asylum.

“The EU should have a clear policy, not only when it comes to security. We must deal with the source of the crisis. It is not simple, we should work together in the region, to respect rules,” concluded Fajon.