Members of the PA BiH Delegation in the Parliamentary Dimension of the CEI Sredoje Nović and Predrag Kožul participated in the annual meeting of the Parliamentary Committee of the Parliamentary Dimension of the CEI in Belgrade

Chairman of the Delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Parliamentary Dimension of the Central European Initiative Sredoje Nović and Deputy Chairman of the Delegation Predrag Kožul participated in the annual meeting of the Parliamentary Committee of the Parliamentary Dimension of the CEI, which was held in Belgrade under the chairmanship of the Republic of Serbia.

During the two-day meeting of the Parliamentary Committee of the Parliamentary Dimension of the CEI, which was held in the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, the partnership within the CEI was discussed in support of the European Union (EU) enlargement process.

In his address to the participants of the meeting, the chairman of the PA BiH Delegation in the Parliamentary dimension of the CEI, Sredoje Nović, welcomed the fact that the regional dialogue within the CEI has a clear European dimension. According to Nović, the partnership that CEI encourages between member states that are already part of the EU and those that want to become part of it is a bridge that, as he said, enables us not staying behind, but to progress on the European path based on cooperation, not imposition.

Pointing out that BiH received the status of a candidate for EU membership at the end of 2022, Nović assessed this fact as a significant turning point, but also a signal that the EU recognizes the need for further stabilization of the region. In this regard, Nović underlined that Bosnia and Herzegovina with its two entities supports the European path, but also warned that this process, as he said, must be in accordance with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Dayton Peace Agreement and the principle of legitimate representation of all nations and entities.

Nović emphasized that there is no doubt that reforms on BiH's European path are necessary, but he also added that reforms for the sake of reforms, without the true consent of all political actors and without respect for entity competences, do not lead to a stable Bosnia and Herzegovina.

According to Nović, the European integration process of Bosnia and Herzegovina should be the result of internal dialogue, agreements and balanced solutions. In this regard, he emphasized that the CEI can play a significant role in that process through the exchange of experiences among member states regarding decentralized management models in the EU. (end)