German Minister for Europe and Climate Anna Luehrmann said in an exclusive interview with N1's Adisa Imamovic that European Union will not tolerate secessionist tendencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She stressed that German diplomat Christian Schmidt, who is serving as the international community's High Representative in BiH, enjoys the support of the German government but that he is independent regarding his decisions.

Luehrmann is paying a visit to Sarajevo, where she already met with some senior officials. Among the others, she talked to the members of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Asked if that meeting was the crucial message of her visit, the minister replied it was very important for her to meet the Constitutional Court representatives and hear about the important work they do.

According to her, the number of the Constitutional Court's judges is very important and to deal with various cases and BiH needs a sufficient number of judges.

If more judges are appointed, then national judges would have more influence in this court, which would strengthen the rule of law, Luehrmann stressed.

Speaking about Bosnia's EU path, the minister reiterated a strong support of Germany, stressing that BiH is “in the heart of Europe” and “its place is in the EU.”

Also, she continued, it is important for the country to go on with reform efforts in order to send a signal about serious policy regarding the EU accession.

Once this point is reached and the accession talks starts, the real work begins only then, she noted.

Asked if that moment could be in March this year, Luehrmann said there was a strong support among the EU member states to the enlargement especially when it comes to the Western Balkans.

This is a good moment for the enlargement and BiH needs to seize this opportunity for itself. If the reforms are successful, then the response in March will be positive, according to her.

As for the conditions, she stressed that they are the same for all candidate countries and the pace of the accession “is in your hands.”

BiH has a lot work lying ahead, which includes the reliability of election process, the rule of law, the independence of judicial bodies, the environmental protection, and so on, the minister noted, mentioning the example of Sarajevo as one od the most polluted cities and suggesting that another thing that needs to be done is transferring from the use of “dirty” energy to renewable energy sources.

Commenting on the work of German diplomat Christian Schmidt, who is serving as the international community's High Representative in BiH, Luehrmann said he was the one who needs to be asked about whether he will use his executive powers here in BiH to impose amendments to the Election Law-

Schmidt is independent with his decisions, the minister stressed, noting that the use of the so-called Bonn powers is the last option and those politicians who say they support the progress to the EU are expected to support the goal of independent elections, too.

Asked if Schmidt enjoys the support of the German institutions, she replied affirmatively, adding that his position is very important in context of current situation in BiH.

As for the country's future, Luehrmann said its place is in the EU and that it needs to carry out the necessary reforms on that path.

She also answered to the question whether she thinks a conflict is a possibility in Bosnia and Herzegovina, stressing that this is why the EUFOR – the EU military deployment is present in the country – the violence and secessionism will not be tolerated.