During his working visit to Finland, the Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Denis Becirovic discussed Bosnia and Herzegovina's path to membership in the European Union (EU) and NATO with the Finnish Minister for European Affairs Joakim Strand, the Bosnian news agency reported FENA, quoted by BTA.
Bečirović thanked for the permanent support that Finland provides to Bosnia and Herzegovina on the way to membership in the EU and NATO.
He emphasized the importance of supporting Finland in the process of the country's European integration, especially in obtaining the status of a candidate for EU membership and making the decision to start negotiations for the country's accession to the EU.
Bečirović also indicated that Bosnia and Herzegovina's goal is full membership in the EU and NATO.
Minister Strand said that his country strongly supports EU enlargement and the European perspective of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the countries of the Western Balkans.
He stressed the need for a clear and credible path to membership, which includes the provision of technical and financial assistance to help Bosnia meet the necessary criteria.
During the conversation, Bechirovych condemned the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and expressed his support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
He emphasized that the membership of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the EU and NATO will greatly contribute to the improvement of the economic development and progress of the entire country, the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina reported, quoted by FENA.
Denis Becirovic currently heads the three-member Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina – a post held on a rotating basis by the Serb, Croat and Bosniak (Muslim) representatives. Bečirović is a representative of Bosniaks in the country.
According to the Dayton Peace Agreement, which ended the war in Bosnia in 1995, the country was made up of two semi-autonomous parts – Republika Srpska, populated mostly by Bosnian Serbs, and the Muslim-Croat Federation, home to Bosnian Muslims (Bosniaks) and Bosnian Croats. Each part has its own government, parliament and police, but the two parts are connected through common state-level institutions, including the judiciary, army, security services and tax administration.