The Dayton-Paris agreement is the most important peace agreement since World War II, Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlic-Radman said on Thursday, warning that its changes would be "catastrophic for peace throughout Europe".

The Croatian Foreign Minister took part in the international conference Prespa Forum in Ohrid in Northern Macedonia, at a panel titled “Building Trust through Dialogue”.

Grlic-Radman said that it was encouraging that, “as a result of the urgent need and traumatic experiences in this region, tools have been developed to solve problems through dialogue and negotiations.”

“The importance of the Dayton-Paris Agreement for Bosnia and Herzegovina is still immeasurable and any attempt to change it is unacceptable for Croatia,” the Minister reiterated, adding that “attempts by political structures within BiH to question the agreement have been happening lately.”

“The consequences of that would be catastrophic for peace and security throughout Europe,” Grlic-Radman warned.
The Minister noted at the conference that “the consensus within the EU is that Southeast Europe must be included in the EU,” expressing satisfaction that the Council of Europe decided to start accession negotiations with Northern Macedonia and Albania during Croatia's presidency in the first half of last year.

The Dayton Peace Agreement was signed in 1995, ending the 3-and-a-half-year war in BiH. It decentralised the country and divided it into two semi-autonomous entities, the Bosniak-Croat shared Federation (FBiH) and the Serb-dominated Republika Srpska. The Agreement also created a district in the north of the country called the Brcko District.