Zeljka Cvijanovic, the Chairwoman of Bosnia's tripartite Presidency, said following the meeting with European President Council Charles Michel in Brussels on Wednesday that there was no mention of any sort of sanctions or conditioning but that the Presidency and the EU official talked about the European Union's incentives and encouragement.

“We agreed to hold frequent meetings with Michel in order to keep him informed. There was positive atmosphere, everyone understands the complexity of the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This was a meeting of encouragement on his part, so that we all understand that we need to be a part of European family. That was Michele's message,” Cvijanovic told N1.

Asked if there was mention of potential sanctions of financial conditioning of Bosnia's Serb-majority entity Republika Srpska, Cvijanovic replied that “he has not even mentioned sanctions.”

“You cannot encourage someone and then speak about sanctions,” she added.

According to Cvijanovic, who is the Serb member of the Presidency, there is lot of disagreement among the three Bosnia Presidency members but this should not be shown in Brussels and such meetings should serve “to see what can be done together.”

Speaking to N1, Bosniak Presidency member Denis Becirovic assessed that the meeting was constructive.

“We in Bosnia and Herzegovina can all be encouraged by Michel's messages. He encouraged us to move towards the EU with even faster pace,” he stressed.

Becirovic also said that the state is at a crossroads.

“We in Bosnia and Herzegovina must all decide if we are declaratively for the European Union or to enter the phase of work, and that means that we pass specific laws and meet specific obligations in order to align with European laws and Acquis,” he said.

According to him, the largest part of the responsibility for meeting the criteria that the EU set before Bosnia and Herzegovina is on the Council of Ministers.

Croat Presidency member Zeljko Komsic also briefly addressed media after the meeting, saying that there are three top priorities that the country must meet on the EU path, and that includes the adoption of the Law on the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council, the Law on Public Procurement and the Law on Preventing the Conflict of Interests.

“We must do those three things as soon as possible,” he said.

According to the Presidency members, there was no talk on deadlines to meet those conditions during the meeting.