The international community’s High Representative in BiH Christian Schmidt stressed that the country’s territorial integrity must be preserved and that it is necessary to more effectively combat corruption as the most prevalent problem in the entire region, Anadolu agency reported Thursday.

An online conference titled “Bosnia and Herzegovina – 30 Years of Modern Independence – Challenges and Perspectives on the Road to EU Membership” was held in Copenhagen Thursday where Schmidt and other high ranking guests spoke about BiH.

Pointing to the abuses of the Dayton Peace Agreement which ended the 1992-1995 war in BiH, Schmidt said that it caused dysfunction and blockade of institutions in BiH, adding that it is necessary to consider what and how it should be amended to give ethnic groups their rights and obligations to cooperate with others.

“I think we must clearly say that the territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina is not just a phrase, but a very important fact that needs to be preserved. The US decision to impose sanctions was one of the options and tools, and I agree that it will not bring all the solutions, but it is a sign,” Schmidt said, adding that the Office of the High Representative, the US and the EU are much closer to acting together than in previous years.

“It’s not enough to say that the future of the country is in its full membership in the EU. We need to work on steps to achieve that goal. Statistics show that the young population is leaving, and last year around 170,000 young people left BiH, which has a population of about 3.2 million. “Young people from Republika Srpska are also going to Europe, not Russia,” Schmidt said, adding that young people would stay in BiH if they saw a bright future and better living conditions.

The conference was organized by the Embassy of BiH in Copenhagen and the Danish Helsinki Committee for Human Rights. It was attended by a number of speakers, including Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers and BiH Foreign Minister Biser Turkovic, Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod and High Representative Christian Schmidt, European Court of Human Rights Judge Faris Vehabovic, Danish Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Martin Lidegaard.