The European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, said during her visit to Sarajevo on Thursday that she was very disappointed by present political obstacles in Bosnia and Herzegovina on the country's path to EU membership, noting that Brussels would insist on fulfilment of clearly-defined membership requirements.
I am very disappointed because there has been no progress in Bosnia and Herzegovina since I was last here six months ago together with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Ashton told the press after meeting with members of the country's collective presidency.
She blamed the current stalemate on Bosnian political leaders who have failed to deliver on the promises they themselves made, including enforcement of a 2009 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that ordered Bosnia and Herzegovina to eliminate discrimination against ethnic minorities in election processes.
The question of implementing the ruling in the Sejdic-Finci case will not go away. It will only gain significance and its resolution will become more urgent, Ashton said. Please do not risk the future of your country, she added.
Dervo Sejdic and Jakob Finci sued Bosnia and Herzegovina because as members of ethnic minorities they were not allowed to run in elections for members of the state presidency and the upper house of parliament.
Ashton did not meet with leaders of political parties, and travelled to the eastern town of Srebrenica to pay tribute to the victims of genocide committed by Bosnian Serb forces in July 1995.
Ashton was expected in Zagreb later in the day for talks with top Croatian officials.
