N1 contacted the EU Delegation to Bosnia to clarify why the EU Commission decided to co-finance the construction of the Peljesac Bridge. They said the matter of border demarcation falls within the competence of the two neighbouring countries, and that there were no outstanding legal issues preventing its construction.

In an interview with N1, Bosnia’s tripartite Presidency Chairman Bakir Izetbegovic said he asked Head of the EU Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina Lars-Gunnar Wigemark to provide answers as to why the EU decided to co-finance the construction of the Peljesac Bridge, knowing that Bosnia objected its construction before the border issue at the sea between Bosnia and Croatia was resolved.  

On Wednesday, N1 received the answer from the EU Delegation saying that the Commission carefully analysed the project application received from Croatia on the EU co-financing of the Peljesac Bridge and has checked that all requirements and procedural steps under the Cohesion Policy regulation had been complied with, before adopting it on June 7, 2017.  

They added that on the basis of additional information provided by Croatia, the European Commission concluded that there are no outstanding legal issues with this Cohesion Policy project as far as internal Commission and EU procedures are concerned.  

“In accordance with Article 77(4) of The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), the geographical demarcation of borders falls under the competence of Member States, in accordance with international law. As EU institutions have no competences in this field, the Commission invited Croatia, in a spirit of good neighbourly relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, to take all necessary action to solve any potential disagreement on border demarcation,” concluded the EU Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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