The equality of all the three constituent peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina is the only guarantee for Bosnia and Herzegovina to become a functional and stable country, Croatia's Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlic Radman said on Saturday.

Addressing a conference which the Croatian Pan-European Union organised in the cooperation with the Hanns-Seidel and Konrad Adenauer foundations on the experiences of Croatia’s presidency over the European Union in the first half of this year, Minister Grlic Radman said that the 25th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Accords would soon be marked and underlined that one should be aware of the historical genesis and political complexity of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a multi-ethnic country.

He recalled Croatia’s support to the 17 June agreement between the Croat and Bosniak leaders on local elections in Mostar and to the implementation of the Constitutional Court’s ruling in the Ljubic case.

Considering the western Balkan countries and their aspirations to come closer to the European Union, the minister said that there were many challenges facing this process.

As for the protection of of the European Union’s external borders, Grlic Radman said that 17,500 Croatian police officers had a crucial role in guarding the country’s border, which is also the EU external border, against illegal migrations.

“We dismiss any accusations about the Croatian police officers’ incorrect behaviour at the border,” he said, highlighting the efforts made by the law enforcement officers to protect the border.