Rejecting European accession talks with Northern Macedonia and Albania even after they fulfilled all the necessary conditions, sends a wrong message to Bosnia and Herzegovina – that hard work and difficult decisions would not give the wanted results, Bosnia's Presidency Chairman said in a letter to top EU officials on Thursday.

“If negotiations do not start, I believe it would also slow down the process of implementation of measures and recommendations from the European Commission's opinion on Bosnia's EU membership application, as well as the adoption process of European standards I stand for. Not to mention the possible rise of Euroscepticism in countries of the region, as well as the possibility of reinforcing the presence of some other factors and influences in the region,” Komsic noted in his letter to President of European Council Donald Tusk, President of the European Commission Jean-Claide Juncker, President-elect of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, and European Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn.

Komsic pointed out that the reason he wrote this letter was the solidarity with friendly countries and his desire for all the regional countries to one day be full members of the European Union.

“For reasons of principle when it comes to fulfilling the criteria to be achieved by individual countries, solidarity with friendly countries in the region and wishes for all the countries of the region to one day be full EU members, I hope that the decision to start negotiations with the Republic of Northern Macedonia and the Republic of Albania will be positive,” Komsic concluded in his letter.