Bosnia's EU path and migrations in focus of first Presidency session

Predsjednistvo BiH

The migration issue and speeding up the country's path to the European Union were among the main topics discussed Wednesday at Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency session, the first one after the Presidency members took office last month.

“We adopted the Presidency's joint statement regarding the EU path, stressing the need to speed up the EU integration,” Presidency Chairman Milorad Dodik told a press conference following the session.

The meeting agenda was previously agreed in consultations and the session itself was “quick and efficient,” according to Dodik.

“We agreed that migrants will not be granted asylum, in order to prevent any internal problems in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said the Presidency Chairman.

He recalled that over 23,000 migrants entered the country so far, significant number passed through its territory and some 4,000 are currently accommodated at various locations across the country.

“The issue of migrations is a difficult issue for the entire region, which means for Bosnia and Herzegovina too,” he stressed.

The members of Bosnia's tripartite Presidency took office on November 20 after they were elected in the October 7 general election.

Bosnia's collective head of state body consists of three members, with the Bosniak and the Croat elected in the Federation (FBiH) entity, and the Serb member elected in Republika Srpska (RS) entity.

The Presidency also agreed to invite the Presidents of Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia and Montenegro for an official visit.