Skip to main content
European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR)
News article17 June 2020Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Joint statement by High Representative/ Vice-President Josep Borrell and Neighbourhood and Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi on political a

We welcome today’s political agreement on the electoral law for Mostar between political leaders which would finally pave the way for the residents of Mostar to exercise their right to vote in the municipal elections after 12 years.

20141218-eu-flag.jpg

We welcome today’s political agreement on the electoral law for Mostar between political leaders which would finally pave the way for the residents of Mostar to exercise their right to vote in the municipal elections after 12 years. We now look forward to the swift adoption of the related legislative amendments by the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in line with prescribed procedure, and we urge the governing majority to ensure all necessary conditions are met for the municipal elections to take place throughout the country, including the adoption of the budget.

Holding municipal elections in Mostar is included among the 14 key priorities of the Commission’s Opinion on the EU membership application of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As regards the political agreement on further electoral reform, the EU recalls the need to fully address the Opinion key priorities for Bosnia and Herzegovina to progress on its EU accession path.

While taking into account the country-specific context, election-related issues should be addressed in line with European standards. No legislative or political steps should be taken which would make the implementation of the European Court for Human Rights Sejdić-Finci ruling and related rulings more challenging. Bosnia and Herzegovina also needs to implement OSCE/ODIHR recommendations in order to improve the democratic quality of its electoral processes.

Details