The main message from the EU - Western Balkans Summit 2020, which is taking place in Zagreb on Wednesday, is a clear European perspective for all Western Balkan countries, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Bosniak member of the tripartite Presidency said.

“The European Union is not complete and will not be complete until all countries of the Western Balkans join the institutions of the EU and that was clearly stated today,” Sefik Dzaferovic said.

He said that the participants discussed solidarity during the coronavirus pandemic and that the crisis has shown how much countries depend on each other. The EU has shown such solidarity with Western Balkan countries as the most important donor to the region, especially to Bosnia and Herzegovina, he said.

“The EU provides the strongest support to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the battle against the pandemic in the sense of health care and of the revitalisation of our economy,” he said.

Another message from the summit was that countries of the region should cooperate in resolving their relationships based on agreement and that, in cases where this is not possible, issues should be resolved through principles of international law.

The road toward EU membership leads through regional cooperation, he said.

“These are the most important messages of the summit, which comes at a difficult time when the entire world is plagued by the pandemic and an is fighting this challenge, and the EU has found the strength and ways to organize such a summit and dedicate itself to the Western Balkans by video-conference,” he said.

He expressed hope that Bosnia will manage to secure EU candidacy status in June. “We hope to enter the next enlargement package in June as a candidate for EU membership,” the chairman of the Bosnian presidency said.