It is time for Bosnia and Herzegovina to start membership negotiations with the European Union, the visiting Greek foreign minister Giorgos Gerapetritis said in Zagreb on Tuesday after meeting his host, Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlic-Radman.

The Croatian minister expressed satisfaction with Greece sharing the opinion on BiH's EU membership prospects.

Last week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the EC would recommend the launch of membership talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina. The European Council, which is due to give a go-ahead, is convening in Brussels on Thursday and Friday.

Gerapetritis said that the integration of Western Balkan countries with the EU would serve as a catalyst of peace and stability and that aspirants should be assessed according to their own progress.

The Greek minister said that the European Union's greatest achievement is the “long-standing peace” in Europe.

Peace should not be taken for granted. The situations in the Middle East and in Ukraine can spill over to other regions, he warned.

The tensions in the Red Sea can significantly impact the supply chains and security of navigation and consequently prices for consumers. We must not let this happen, the Greek minister said in reference to Yemeni Houthi attacks against merchant vessels in protest against the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Grlic-Radman and Gerapetritis said that their countries cooperate excellently in the EU and NATO and in a series of initiatives such as the SEECP, the Berlin Process, the Three Seas Initiative, and the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative, and the EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region.

Gerapetritis hopes that Croatia will soon join the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), where the two countries could also successfully cooperate.

Grlic-Radman welcomed the “productive economic bilateral cooperation”, which could be further promoted in the projects of the Adriatic-Ionian gas pipeline and the completion of the Adriatic-Ionian motorway.