The process of accession to the European Union is a slow one and having the best negotiators in your teams is very important for any country, former prime minister of Ireland Bertie Ahern said in an interview to N1, speaking of the period when his country held the EU Presidency in 2004 and when ten new member states joined the Union.

For some countries, it is a painstakingly slow process but with some other countries the process goes fairly quickly, he said, stressing that there are no shortcuts in the accession process for anyone.

He hopes that Bosnia and Herzegovina will get through the negotiating process without waiting too long.

Many countries benefited substantially from European Union, said former prime minister, adding that his own country is one of them. “We very much see ourselves as part of the world and not an insular island between America and Europe as we used to be.”

Ahern also spoke about the peace deal reached between the British and Irish governments in 1998, his cooperation with leaders such as Tony Blair and Angela Merkel, as well as about Brexit.

See the full interview in the video below: