"Bosnia and Herzegovina has a great opportunity to catch up with the other candidates for membership in the European Union. The period ahead should be used for a significant step towards full membership in the Union," the newly elected president of the European Parliament's delegation for relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, Davor Ivo Stier told Fena.

The Croatian member of the European Parliament pointed out that the climate in Europe has changed towards enlargement and that Bosnia and Herzegovina should take advantage of this opportunity.

“It is paradoxical that it was the Russian aggression against Ukraine that brought the issue of enlargement back on the agenda and there is now indeed a good will regarding the success of that process. Of course, a lot also depends on Bosnia and Herzegovina, which must implement all the reform requirements on that path, but our delegation will make its contribution so that the issue of BiH's candidacy is constantly on the agenda here in the European institutions, and together with our fellow parliamentarians from Bosnia and Herzegovina, we'll work on the success of that process,” Stier said.

According to him, awareness is growing in the Union that enlargement has an important geopolitical dimension.

“It refers to the issue of Ukraine's candidacy, but also to the unfinished business in the western Balkans, which must not become a hole in the continent, but must be integrated into the EU. Today, in the corridors of the European Parliament, the European Council and the European Commission, you can feel the growing awareness that it is necessary to do this. Each of the candidate countries is expected to do their part. It must be a partnership, but there is certainly an awakened awareness that enlargement is a very important tool that the EU has to build a new infrastructure of peace, stability and prosperity in the Western Balkans,” Stier concluded.

He announced the arrival of the observation mission of the European Parliament in Bosnia and Herzegovina to monitor the upcoming local elections, while a meeting of the joint committee of the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina should be held at the end of October.

Davor Ivo Stier is an experienced Croatian politician and diplomat. He was elected to the European Parliament on the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) list, and in his rich political career, he also held the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Croatia.