December 4 (SeeNews) - The European Commission and member states are deeply concerned about Bosnia and Herzegovina's lack of progress on necessary reforms so far in 2017, the EU enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn said on Monday.
"While the European Union is more committed than ever to support Bosnia and Herzegovina on its EU path political leaders both in government and in opposition seem more concerned with the usual nationalistic themes and talk about "crisis" instead of focusing on the real work at hand," Hahn said in a statement published ahead of his visit to Sarajevo.
Hahn pointed out that in his meetings with the Bosnian authorities he will stress that the Commission expects from the country's elected leaders to deliver on the written commitment they have undertaken in February 2015.
"The only way to move forward in the EU integration process is to achieve concrete results on reforms. This includes delivering on the reform agenda measures, create jobs, strengthening of rule of law and improving the quality and efficiency of public administration," Hahn noted.
Bosnia must also adopt the necessary country-wide strategies, such as on agriculture, in order to benefit from extensive EU financial assistance.
"This, instead of a divisive rhetoric, will contribute to move the country closer to the EU and, above all will directly benefit citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina," Hahn stressed.
In December last year, Bosnia officially received the European Commission's questionnaire, based on which the EU will decide whether the country is ready to join the bloc.
In a Tweet also on Monday, the EU said the questionnaire should be answered as soon as possible.
While in Sarajevo, Hahn is due to meet with with key political representatives including the chairman of the Council of Ministers, Denis Zvizdic, the members of Bosnia's collective presidency Dragan Covic, and Bakir Izetbegovic, as well as representatives of all the main political parties who signed the Written Commitment to jointly pursue EU integration in February 2015.