BOSNIAN PRESIDENT HARIS SILAJDZIC MET WITH AMBASSADORS OF EU MEMBER COUNTRIES

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (April 24,2008) – Bosnia could, in late April or in late May, sign the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) between Bosnia and the EU, the Bosnian President Haris Silajdzic announced.

President Silajdzic stated after a meeting with the Ambassador of Slovenia to Bosnia Natasa Vodusek that Bosnia's progress to the EU and NATO memberships remains priority.

Dilemma related to the signing of the SAA was caused by technical reasons, that is, the time needed for translation of the agreement to the languages of 27 countries of the EU. It is certain that the SAA between Bosnia and the EU will be signed May 26, in the case the previously-arranged deadline is prolonged.

The Bosnian President Silajdzic stated during the meeting with ambassadors of EU member countries to Bosnia that a special attention was dedicated to economic issues in Bosnia, that is, difficulties related to realization of foreign investments. Situation in the region was one of the topics of conversation.

The issue of making the investments’ “flow” easier was also discussed, both in the sense of political or bureaucratic barriers.

In that context, President Silajdzic said that he is supportive of a program related to the sector of energy. He expressed fears that any delays in the process could bring Bosnia into position that the country imports instead of exports electric energy.

Ambnassador Vodusek stated that the southeastern European region is in the focus of her country’s foreign policy.

The southeastern Europe, she said, is a high priority area, which confirms readiness of Slovenia as the country residing the EU, that the countries of the region are brought as close as possible to the EU membership.

Answering the journalists’ question, Ambassador did not want to speculate about whether or not Bosnia is waiting for signing of SAA because of the elections in the genocidal Serbia, but she did say that Brussels has made clear conditions which need to be fulfilled. She emphasized her country’s readiness to maximally engage into processes which will bring the country closer to the EU.
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