Plenković says has made Rutte, von der Leyen more aware of problem with Komšić

PM Andrej Plenković said on Tuesday that by not attending talks with members of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Presidency over its Croat member Željko Komšić, he had made Dutch PM Mark Rutte and EC President Ursula von der Leyen more aware of the problem of Komšić's having been elected with Bosniak votes.

The EC president and the Dutch prime minister met with members of the three-member BiH Presidency in Sarajevo on Tuesday but the Croatian prime minister, who travelled with them to Sarajevo, did not attend the meeting because he does not want to meet with Komšić.

"They (Rutte and von der Leyen) understood my move very well. Of course, I informed them of it before the very meeting, and they respect it. Now their associates, too, are probably more aware of the problem that exists with regard to the legitimate representation of the Croats in the BiH Presidency," Plenković said, reiterating that Komšić "is not a legitimately elected member of the Presidency" because he was elected with Bosniak votes and not the votes of BiH Croats.

Plenković, Rutte and von der Leyen visited Bosnia and Herzegovina together to encourage local politicians to implement reforms which are necessary for the European Council to make a decision in March to launch accession talks with BiH.

Plenković described the visit as very successful.

He said that the make-up of the EU delegation was as it was because "Croatia is the biggest friend and advocate of BiH", and the Netherlands "a country that traditionally has the most reservations and is the most skeptical about the enlargement process", while the EC president is the one who, together with the enlargement commissioner, proposes to the European Council the launching of accession talks.

Asked about the situation in Germany in the context of the fact that the right-wing populist AfD party is the second strongest party and its leader has announced that if it comes to power, it will organise a referendum on Germany leaving the EU, Plenković said that he did not see the danger of such a scenario happening.

"I believe... that German citizens are mature enough, and that the parties that will lead Germany for a long time will be the parties of the political mainstream," he said.
 
Text: Hina

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