European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi said that 2021 was a lost year for Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that the country missed an opportunity to make a progress in legislative reform. He said boycott of elections in October or not acknowledging the election results will lead nowhere.

Varhelyi met with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic in Zagreb on Monday and one of the topics the two officials discussed was the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The EU official said they agreed that 2021 could have and should have been the year for things to be arranged for the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

However, he added, this opportunity has been missed and consequences are already visible i.e. the lack of progress in meeting the 14 priorities on the country's path towards the EU candidate status.

With peace and stability, Bosnia and Herzegovina needs a more constructive political situation in order be able to cope with future challenges, Varhelyi stressed.

He welcomed the activities of aligning Bosnia's foreign and security policy with EU towards the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but emphasised that there was no progress within the country in terms of reforms.

It is disappointing that there is no agreement on the constitutional and electoral reforms, he stressed, noting that the EU will try to cooperate with partners in Bosnia and Herzegovina to have fair and free elections in October this year, towards equal representation of three major groups.

Boycott and not acknowledging the election results will lead nowhere, Varhelyi underlined.