Zagreb – A delegation of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, headed by the Committee Chairman Mirza Kušljugić, visited the Croatian Parliament. They were received by the Parliament Speaker Boris Šprem and held meetings with members and chairmen of the Foreign Policy Committee, European Integration Committee and the Committee on Croats outside the Republic of Croatia.
Šprem and Kušljugić refer to the two countries’ bilateral relations as neighbourly and friendly. They both agree the Constitution and electoral legislation of Bosnia and Herzegovina need to be amended in order to guarantee equality of all the three nations living in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Šprem confirmed Croatia’s readiness to consult, share its knowledge and experience with Bosnia and Herzegovina and thus help the country in the process of joining the EU and the NATO.
Milorad Pupovac, Chairman of the Foreign Policy Committee, discussed with the guests from Bosnia and Herzegovina the possibilities of intensifying the two countries’ parliamentary cooperation, particularly in the context of transferring the knowledge and experience Croatia had acquired during its negotiation process for the accession to the European Union. They also talked about the possibility of establishing an interstate commission that would deal with unresolved issues among the countries in the region of Southeast Europe as well as with other topics of common interest.
Daniel Mondekar, Chairman of the European Integration Committee, explained the benefits of the new model of negotiations for the EU accession: reforms are carried out more swiftly and the entire society is more ready to function within the EU. He also described the new competences parliamentary committees would have once Croatia acquired full EU membership.
Kušljugić and Ivo Jelušić, Chairman of the Committee on Croats outside the Republic of Croatia, discussed primarily the status of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Talking about the two countries cooperation, they agreed the geographic, cultural and economic correlations between Croatia and BiH are an excellent foundation for cooperation in the fields of energy industry and traffic infrastructure.