Govori

When I spoke at the Alpbach Symposium last year, on the twentieth anniversary of the Year of Revolutions, I noted that in 1989 many politicians and diplomats were slow to understand the nature of the change that was taking place in the Eastern bloc. I pointed out that the West Europeans acted “with caution and, in the beginning, with a distinct lac [...]

I came to Bosnia and Herzegovina as a member of SFOR in 1998 assigned to provide support for special forces working on following and arresting persons indicted for war crimes. Since then 159 of 161 persons indicted by the ICTY have been brought to justice. Since I came back to Bosnia and Herzegovina later that year as part of the Train and Equip pr [...]

Respected mothers and women of Srebrenica, dear relatives, brothers and sisters, distinguished mourners. We are gathered here, on the European Remembrance Day, to remember - with honesty and with the deepest compassion - the horrific genocide of Srebrenica.

Half a century ago the British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, summed up the zeitgeist of the post-colonial world when he told skeptical members of parliament in Cape Town that “a wind of change” was blowing across the African continent.

The issue facing Bosnia and Herzegovina between now and 3 October is whether the election can put an end to the dysfunction and stalemate of the last few years and get the country back on the high road to stability, prosperity and Euro-Atlantic integration.

Many of you have travelled from across the Herzegovina region and even further afield to be with us today, to mark the closure of the OHR South Office in Mostar.

Today we mark the 10th anniversary of the BiH Border Police. It is also the second anniversary of the start of negotiations between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Union to eliminate the visa requirement for BiH citizens travelling to the EU.

These days are special days for Bosnia and Herzegovina, as it is celebrating 18 years of its admission to the United Nations. But they are also special for my home country Austria as it was presiding the Security Council in the month of May, exactly 18 years ago.

Let me first of all express my thanks to the organisers, the EU Institute for Security Studies, for bringing together such an impressive body of expertise form the Western Balkans, the European Union and a range of NGOs.

Corruption is a massive obstacle on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s road to stability, prosperity and full integration in the European Union. If participants at today’s conference can make practical recommendations on how to eliminate this obstacle you will be doing a great service to the people of this country.