Croatia’s Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia Gordan Grlic Radman met with Bosnia’s Foreign Minister Elmedin Konakovic, on Friday, and the two discussed Bosnia’s EU integration process and reform efforts, pointing to the growing cooperation between the two countries.

“First of all, I congratulate you on the significant reform results achieved in the area of European integration. I am coming with a large delegation to welcome the political effort and patience. All this was necessary in order to achieve something good. Croatia is concerned about the Western Balkans, but above all about Bosnia and Herzegovina. The country with which we share the longest border”, Croatia’s Grlic Radman said.

He pointed out that the European Union also faces many challenges.

“Opening accession negotiations with potential members are very important decisions. Croatia is sincerely advocating that BiH be included in that process, that the accession negotiations be opened as soon as possible. Also, I want to encourage the leaders in BiH to work on negotiations. When we talk about reforms, it also means changing the Election Law. This guarantees the stability of the state and the system, but it’s also a pledge to future generations,” he noted.

The Croatian Foreign Minister suggested that the two countries strengthen cooperation by starting the joint commission for EU partnership’s work. This, he added, would establish a long-term structure that would be useful even after the start of accession negotiations.

Bosnia’s Foreign Minister Elmedin Konakovic thanked his Croatian counterpart for all the efforts Croatia has made in bringing Bosnia closer to the EU.

“Grlic Radman is one of the most active advocates of our European integration. I thank him from the bottom of my heart, as well as [Croatian Prime Minister] Andrej Plenkovic. Today's meeting was focused on the offer we have from the EU, which we have never had before. This is our opportunity, actually the last train for integration,” Konakovic said.

He also pointed out that the latest European Commission report on reforms and progress was the best one Bosnia and Herzegovina had ever received.

“But we mustn’t get carried away. We show continue to make progress despite all the political challenges. The atmosphere between our two countries has also become tolerable. BiH has a large trade volume. A big jump happened between 2021 and 2022. I want to send a message to everyone that there is no alternative for us. 93 percent of everything produced in BiH goes to the EU and the region. Attempting a U-turn could mean anything. In fact, It would break the backbone of the BiH economy,” Konakovic concluded.