In his first interview after taking over the post of the Bosniak member in BiH’s tripartite Presidency, Denis Becirovic said he will focus on addressing the “existential issues” citizens face and stressed the importance of the High Representative of the international community in the country.

Becirovic told BHRT that he is well aware of the responsibilities of the presidency, but also urged authorities on all government levels to “work together and solve the existential issues of the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

“All of us in Bosnia and Herzegovina have common problems, we all have common enemies. The enemies of the people in Bosnia and Herzegovina are unemployment, disenfranchisement, poverty, and the mass emigration of people, especially young people, and for this reason, I persistently call on all representatives of the authorities, at all levels, to start solving existential issues and to keep in mind the competences of certain institutions,” he said.

As for foreign policy, Becirovic emphasised the importance of BiH progressing on its path towards the European Union and NATO.

“We must respect the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We must respect the adopted decisions. The state of Bosnia and Herzegovina has clearly defined, as well as its competent authorities, what the strategic foreign political priorities of BiH are, namely full membership in the European Union and full membership in NATO,” he said.

He also the importance of developing good regional relations, urging political leaders in Serbia and Croatia to “stop with inflammatory messages and arguments” and turn toward solving open issues between their countries and BiH.

Becirovic stressed the importance of the role of the High Representative, Christian Schmidt, who oversees the civilian implementation of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement.

However, he added that while the High Representative’s role is “important and unquestionable”, this does not mean that he always makes the best decisions.
“On October 2, on election night, I clearly said that I disagree with both the timing and the content of the High Representative's decisions,” Becirovic said, referring to the decision of the High Representative, Christian Schmidt, to impose amendments to Bosnia’s Election Law and the Constitution of the country’s Federation (FBiH) entity.

“However, we must cooperate, we must build a European Bosnia and Herzegovina. The High Representative must know that we need to build a Bosnia and Herzegovina in which European principles and European standards will apply,” he said.

The newly elected Presidency member expressed hope that BiH will soon be granted EU candidate status, arguing it would serve as an impetus for further reforms in the country.

“I have to say that in my first address at the inauguration, I pointed out the importance that in these weeks, until December 20, we all try to make the maximum effort so that Bosnia and Herzegovina gets candidate status. This is very important for our country. That would be a strong impetus for us to continue with the reforms,” he said.