The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, visited Sarajevo on Wednesday, where she met with the members of Bosnia’s Presidency and with the Council of Ministers Chair, Borjana Kristo. von der Leyen was also welcomed by a small group of protesters accusing her of being complicit in “Gaza genocide”.

After the meeting with the European Commission President, Borjana Kristo said that this visit was a very significant step for BiH’s path to the European Union.

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“This arrival is also an opportunity for us to present the growth of the European Union for countries from the region. This is important for all of us in BiH and I think we should all use the opportunity to make a significant step forward,” Kristo said.

She added that they discussed what the Council of Ministers has done in the past ten months regarding Bosnia’s EU path.

“This was an opportunity to familiarize ourselves with the new decision made by the European Union. I think we should thank the institutions of the European Union. I wanted to say that through this new growth plan, we remain committed to implementing everything that awaits us. All in order to implement these funds. At today's meeting, I briefly stated what we did on the reform path, but through statistics,” Bosnia’s prime minister said.

She concluded by saying that in the coming period, she and the BiH government will work intensively on fulfilling the necessary conditions.

A group of activists advocating for human rights welcomed the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen front of the BiH Presidency building in Sarajevo with banners.

“EU and Von der Leyen complicit in the genocide in Gaza” and “Cease fire now” they wrote.

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Further work needed

Von der Leyen praised the current government for adopting a certain package of measures in the area of the rule of law that were worked on in the past weeks.

“Now the goal should be decisive progress on the implementation of 14 key priorities. It will certainly represent progress on the accession process and bring you closer to the EU. Our cooperation was excellent and we will continue to cooperate closely in the coming period”, Von der Leyen said adding:
“Resolving 14 priorities, especially those concerning the rule of law, I mean the Law on Conflict of Interest and Courts is extremely important, first of all for Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

She added that Bosnia needs to act with one voice, and not allow any more setbacks. Her second message is that BiH must work on bringing the economies of the EU and the Western Balkans closer together.

“That's what we've been working on. We have an investment plan worth € 30 billion for the Western Balkans, and this plan is rapidly bringing results. A great example is the highway and rail projects along Corridor Vc, which are the link to Central Europe. Your economy is at 35% of the European average, which means a lot of unused potential, which is important for us, and that is precisely why we are presenting the new development plan for the Western Balkans”, said the President of the European Commission.