Chairman of the Council of Ministers Zoran Tegeltija spoke today in Sarajevo with Head of the EU Delegation to BiH Johann Sattler about the current political and economic situation in BiH and the region and about the continuation of the European integration process.
Chairman Tegeltija has informed Ambassador Sattler of conclusions of the Advisory Board for European Integration in connection with settling priorities from the European Commission’s Opinion and stressed the commitment of the Council of Ministers to make significant progress towards the EU despite blockades by certain political factions, says a press release from the Council of Ministers.
Tegeletija has stressed that the consistent implementation of the Coordination Mechanism, which allows for cooperation between various levels of authority in keeping with constitutional powers, is of crucial importance for BiH’s progress towards the EU.
“During the meeting, Chairman Tegeltija has stressed the necessity to further strengthen mutual trust between BiH and the EU, adding that BiH needs a concrete signal that there exist a political will and agreement of all members for enlargement,” says the press release.
Settler stressed the necessity to work through the coordination mechanism, as well as the importance and role of the Advisory Board for European Integration and pointed out the need to respect deadlines for drafting a methodology for drafting BiH’s program of integration with the EU and respect the action plan for implementation of crucial priorities from the European Commission’s Opinion on BiH’s application for membership in the EU, which have been set by the Advisory Board for European Integration.
“Collocutors have exchanged opinions on the current epidemiological and economic situation in BiH and the region caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as on the support the EU provided to BiH, including the macro-financial aid from the EU amounting to EUR 250 million and grants amounting to EUR 80.5 million for cushioning the blow of the covid-19 pandemic,” says the press release from the Council of Ministers.
Sattler expressed full and continuous support to BiH’s progress towards the EU and to the cooperation regarding operations of the task force for a socio-economic response to the coronavirus pandemic.
“The two concluded that reform processes and the implementation of earlier defined socioeconomic measures with the view to launching economic activities, reviving the economy and restoring jobs should be resumed as soon as possible, and pointed out the need for a greater level of solidarity by everyone in order to deal with problems caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic,” says the press release.
Source: SRNA
