Govori

Perhaps the most surprising thing about today’s meeting is the topic itself and the ease with which we think and talk about it. European integration isn’t a distant dream – it now sets the parameters for day-to-day policy in BiH; it provides a coherent structure to the huge reform effort that has noticeably gathered pace in the course of the last [...]

Today we mark a further small milestone in BiH’s progress towards becoming a normal state. The fact we are able to do so owes everything to the work of the hundreds, indeed the thousands of soldiers who have served here at Camp McGovern.

This is certainly easier said than done, of course, but for BiH the answer to the first question is clear. The destination is Europe. That’s more than just an agreed framework for reconstruction. It is a goal that can motivate the people of BiH to make the sacrifices necessary to transform their society, their economy, and their political system in [...]

Ja ću govoriti vrlo kratko. Stari most je danas predmet svih razgovora. O posebnoj prirodi ovoga mosta svjedoči činjenica da se danas ovdje okupilo tako mnogo ljudi iz različitih zemalja kako bi proslavili ono što obnova mosta govori o Bosni i Hercegovini, o suživotu i pobjedi nade nad nesrećom.

There are, just occasionally in the life of countries, moments so imbued with political symbolism – so overtly laden with historical significance – that they come, in time, to encapsulate, more than the mere event they represent, to encapsulate an era. The dismantling of the Berlin Wall. The collapse of the ‘twin towers’ of the World Trade C [...]

BiH is now at a crucial point on its road to peace and I have four things to say to you tonight. First, when I became high representative over two years ago, the European union also appointed me as the first European Union special representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina. This was because BiH is on the way to Europe.

I am delighted to be here today to mark an important day for this country. Later in the week we will open the MostarBridge. That is a big moment of closure on our war torn past. Today we are placing the keystone in the architecture of law and order, which will protect us in the future. Today, with the entry into force of the key laws establishi [...]

I see many familiar faces in the audience today. I am in good company. Since I took up my duties in Bosnia and Herzegovina, more than three years ago, I have been encouraged by the “can-do” attitude of certain sections of the community. I don’t find enough of this attitude among politicians, but I do find it among businesspeople. And that comes as [...]

The link between return and sustainable development is not unique to Bosnia and Herzegovina but it has become a serious factor here nonetheless. When, in the late nineties, the legacy of war -- anger and prejudice – began to dissipate, clearing the way for mass returns, and the legal and political system began to respond to the needs of those who [...]

Throughout the former Yugoslavia, the old rustbelt leviathans that once dominated the economy are being replaced by small and medium sized enterprises. This is not a neat, an easy or a painless process. It is complex, and it is fraught with social and economic dislocations. And that’s why the process is often engulfed in misunderstanding. This mi [...]