World - Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia Agree to Help Each Other on Road to EU

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia Agree to Help Each Other on Road to EU
Southeast European Times

Serbian President Boris Tadic, his Croatian counterpart Ivo Josipovic and the members of Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH) presidency Bakir Izetbegovic, Nebojsa Radmanovic and Zeljko Komsic agreed that no country from the region would benefit if its peers lag behind on the road to the EU.

Hosting the informal meeting in the Croatian Brijuni Islands, Josipovic said it is an important step towards political reconciliation among the three countries that are burdened by issues derived from the collapse of Yugoslavia.

He expressed Zagreb's readiness to help its neighbours on their roads to EU integration and suggested one of the ways to strengthen co-operation is to hold annual trilateral meetings. Of the three countries, Croatia is closest to becoming a member of the EU family, having wrapped up its accession talks on June 30th. Zagreb hopes to join the ranks of the EU in mid-2013.

Tadic, whose country hopes to win EU candidate status by the end of this year, said that "there are Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks living in all three countries and it would be unfair for some parts of our people to live in the EU, and others out of it."

He described relations among the three as excellent, but admitted the existence of some open issues related to borders, property and material heritage. However, Tadic said, there is great potential for resolving these issues.

BiH Presidency Chairman Komsic said all three countries want to be part of the EU family and echoed Josipovic's view that Monday's talks were "sincere and open" and should be held regularly.

In a joint statement after the meeting, the three leaders said they have reached an agreement to apply together for EU aid to finance joint infrastructure projects.

They announced plans to "set up an inter-governmental body to harmonise activities" in the area, which would boost "good-neighbourly relations", strengthen economic competitiveness and create links with Adriatic ports. They urged their governments to plan "a regional network of highways, rail links, logistics centres and the development of ports along the Adriatic coast and the Sava and Danube rivers."

Other issues discussed included co-operation with The Hague war crimes tribunal. Tadic promised his country would apprehend the last remaining war crimes fugitive, Goran Hadzic, as soon as he is located. He also urged other countries in the region to continue to prosecute war criminals, pointing out this is one of the conditions for reconciliation.

The leaders also stressed the importance of co-operation in the field of security and justice, praising the agreements reached in the area so far. They pledged to continue to work for strengthening collaboration in extradition issues, as well as between the police and prosecutors' offices in their countries as part of the fight against organised crime in the region.

They also reiterated their strong support for the return of refugees and internally displaced persons and promised to continue to work for resolving the housing problems these people face.

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