Democratic Action Party (SDA) leader Bakir Izetbegovic said that he was "satisfied" with the conversation with European Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi, who, he added, was optimistic about Bosnia’s chances of receiving EU candidate status in the near future.

“Varhelyi believes that we can take a strong step not only in the laws that were mentioned but also in two additional ones related to the courts and the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council. It is a set of very serious laws that would enable us to increase our chances of obtaining candidate status,” said the first man of the SDA.

Izetbegovic revealed that the European Commissioner tried to impose the topic of amending the Election Law of BiH, at the “request of Croat Democratic Union (HDZ BiH) leader Dragan Covic” but he refused.

“I said that we will discuss it only when the elections are over and when the government is formed at all levels,” he said.

He assessed that Varhelyi himself “has reservations about Covic's request”…

The EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi invited the political leaders of the ruling coalition (Dragan Covic from the Croat Democratic Union – HDZ, Milorad Dodik from the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats – SNSD and Bakir Izetbegovic from the Democratic Action Party – SDA) in Bosnia to separate meetings in Brussels on Wednesday.