Bosnia and Herzegovina's Foreign Minister Elmedin Konakovic called on the EU on Friday to additionally encourage BiH's integration process in order to curb the negative effects of the activity of Bosnian Serb politicians and Russia's influence.

He met in Sarajevo with Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, who said his country strongly supported BiH's ambitions to become an EU member, but called for faster compliance with the commitments stemming from the 14 reform priorities defined by the European Commission in 2019.

Speaking at a press conference, Rasmussen called on all leaders in BiH to make a constructive commitment to that process. He said attempts to undermine BiH's stability were worrying and it was necessary to work together against such destructive behaviour.

Konakovic said the five reform laws adopted by the BiH parliament proved that the incumbent authorities wanted to step up the path to EU membership and that progress was visible. However, he added, the fear of blockades due to the conduct of “several politicians” from the Bosnian Serb entity and Russia's stand on BiH is justified.

Russia is slowing down BiH's progress on the EU path and that's its strategic goal, he said, adding that most of the counterparts he had met in New York and Washington recently agreed.

The EU should not punish BiH citizens because of Bosnian Serb politicians’ actions and Russia's plan, because a majority support European integration, Konakovic said. Therefore, BiH needs additional impetus to improve the lives of the common people, he added, suggesting breaks for BiH companies doing business in the EU.

Another important step the EU could take to help BiH would be the opening of accession negotiations, he said. “It is because of the several bad politicians (in BiH) that the EU's decision on the start of membership negotiations would mean a lot to us.”