Borrell: EU supports Bosnia's sovereignty and territorial integrity

The officials discussed among other topics the country's path to EU membership and High Representative Borrell “encouraged Bosnia and Herzegovina to use 2021, as a non-election year, to advance decisively on the implementation of the 14 key priorities of the Commission’s Opinion on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s EU membership application,” according to the statement by European External Action Service.

He welcomed recent positive steps in the reform agenda and underlined the EU's commitment to support BiH in further advancing on its European path.

https://twitter.com/JosepBorrellF/status/1369969857878446084

Speaking of the pandemic and vaccine procurement process, which Bosnia is lagging behind in, Borell recalled of the €70 million EU grant package for the Western Balkans made available by the European Commission to help cover the cost of some doses procured by EU member States.

They also discussed support through the COVAX Facility. The EU, as TEAM Europe, is one of the strongest supporters of the COVAX facility, with more than €2.2 billion (including €1 billion EU funds).

As for the issue of migrations, High Representative Borrell recalled the migration crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina at the beginning of 2021 and emphasised the importance of “establishing a sustainable migration and asylum system, with a fairer sharing of responsibilities across the country.”