Official Brussels will continue to exert pressure until Bosnia and Herzegovina fully aligns its visa policy with the EU and introduces visas for the remaining five countries it has not yet done so for, stated Minister of Security in the Council of Ministers, Nenad Nešić, in Sarajevo after signing an agreement with Swedish representatives to strengthen BiH’s visa capacity.
Swedish Ambassador Helena Lagerlöf stated that the signed agreement is just one step towards harmonizing BiH’s visa policy with the EU.
One of the key conditions of the Stabilization and Association Agreement is the harmonization of visa policy with the EU. Full alignment is not possible because BiH refuses to introduce a visa regime for citizens of Russia, Turkey, China, Qatar, and Kuwait due to the negative effects on the economy.
- “The pressure will continue to enforce visa harmonization. The example of North Macedonia shows that not everything is ideal when you meet all their demands. They have visa harmonization but are still where they are, and the previous government in North Macedonia suffered an electoral failure by fulfilling all EU demands,” said Nešić.
- “We often have inspections from the EU that check the alignment of our visa policy, and we are under enormous pressure to align with these five countries, which on the other hand affects the economy in BiH,” noted Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Council of Ministers Elmedin Konaković.
As a neighboring territory to the EU and Schengen Area borders, BiH is recognized as key in the Western Balkans.
The signed agreement will contribute to better migration and border management, but it is evident that full alignment of visa policy with the EU is still far off.
Due to this and constant changes in admission rules, Euroscepticism is growing among citizens in BiH.
- “Today’s signing of the agreement is one step in that alignment process, and now we need to implement the project step by step. In the end, the decision is up to this country, and the Swedish Migration Agency will, of course, help with this alignment, but also step by step,” said Swedish Ambassador to BiH Helena Lagerlöf.
- “We are all committed to the European path, but to complete it with full membership by 2030. After that, I honestly don’t know what to tell our citizens about BiH’s European path,” Nešić added.
The signed agreement will enable better control, higher-quality biometric checks, and prevention of visa misuse when crossing borders.
Source: RTRS
