From 18th October 2007 until 8th of May 2008, Delegation of the European Commission to Bosnia and Herzegovina together with institutions of European Union and the Directorate for European Integration BiH, as well as EU Info Centres, are organising twenty two Roundtables “Together with Europe” (“U susret Evropi”).
The goal of the roundtables is to provide more information on the process of European integration and requirements awaiting BiH on its European path, through discussion with the citizens and non-governmental sector. Furthermore, through signing of the “Declaration of the European Future of Bosnia and Herzegovina” better cooperation will be established with local community and citizens and raise EU awareness among BiH public.
The roundtables are designed in a way to provide EU Family and DEI representatives with possibility to discuss the significance of the EU integration process for Bosnia and Herzegovina. They also represent an opportunity for local community representatives, citizens and NGO’s to gain better understanding of requirements, benefits and stakeholders within EU integration process.
The first roundtable which was the responsibility of CSS was the one in Goražde. The Declaration on European future of BiH was signed there on the 06th of December 2007 by Mr. Mustafa Kurtovic, Mayor of Goražde, Mr. Marek Šafin Deputy Ambassador to BiH, and Mrs. Darija Ramljak, Deputy Director of Directorate for European Integration of BiH.
“Symbolically, after initialling the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), Goražde is the first city in BiH where this round table was organised”, said Mr. Kurtovic. He also stressed that local communities can make significant contribution in the process of European integration.
“Only two days after initialling the SAA, credit rating in BiH has increased” said Mrs. Ramljak. She added that some key priorities set in the document “European Partnership with BiH” are still not accomplished, such as police reform, full cooperation with International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), public administration reform, as well as the reform of the public broadcasting system.
Accomplishment of these priorities is the precondition for the signing of the SAA.