Bosnia and Herzegovina should address the official Brussels in a written form if it objects the Peljesac Bridge construction, said European Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc in Sarajevo on Friday.

Following a meeting with Bosnia’s senior officials, Bulc said the Peljesac bridge construction was financially supported by the European Union based on the documents provided by the Republic of Croatia.

Some of Bosnia’s state officials strongly objected the bridge construction, claiming that this project would disturb Bosnia’s access to international waters. In their reaction, they referred to the Bosnia’s Presidency decision from 2007, demanding from Croatia to halt the project until the issue of identification of the maritime boundary line and the country’s access to the international waters is solved.

Commissioner Bulc said during the visit to Sarajevo that the decision to fund the project was made on the grounds of the documents delivered by Croatia. “The project is co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund,” she explained.

Work to build the Peljesac bridge began in 2007. The road link aims at ensuring the territorial continuity of Croatia by connecting its mainland with the Dubrovnik-Neretva County, while avoiding crossing Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Neum Corridor.

By connecting the Croatian peninsula of Peljesac with the mainland, the bridge would span a part of the Adriatic Sea which separates the two near the Bay of Mali Ston and the Neretva Channel.

Amid political controversies with the neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as financial difficulties, construction was stopped in 2012 but Croatia signed a contract with a Chinese consortium earlier this year, announcing the start of construction works in mid-July.

The commissioner also emphasized the importance of Bosnia and Herzegovina having eligible projects to apply for the funds of the EU and the international financial institutions.

“The problem of how to absorb those funds is the only one specific for Bosnia and Herzegovina. There is also a problem of how to prepare those projects. We talked about how to speed up the pace in project implementation,” she added.

Speaking of the importance of railway infrastructure in the country, Bulc noted that the railways had to play a more important role in mobility.

“I emphasized the importance of railways from four aspects – reducing traffic congestion, reducing pollution, security and military industry,” concluded the commissioner.

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