The decision to open negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina is "a great geopolitical message from the EU to all its nations, leaders and institutions"," said Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic in Brussels on Thursday.

After the European Council decided to open accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, he said that BiH must seize this opportunity, “not let it pass and make sure that this wave we have started today improves the lives of all our friends in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

Today’s decision is crucial for the survival and functioning of the state, Plenkovic said.

Croatia played a key role in the adoption of this decision and it was not an easy process, he added.

He recalled that in February 2016, when he was still a Member of the European Parliament, he helped the then Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dragan Covic, to submit an application for membership and made great efforts to ensure that Bosnia and Herzegovina was granted candidate status in December 2022, and that the Croatian Government strongly supported the efforts of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Prime Minister Borjana Kristo in fulfilling the criteria.

As an example of how difficult it was to reach a consensus within the EU, Plenkovic recalled the debate in the Dutch Parliament, where Prime Minister Mark Rutte no longer has a majority and 72 of the 150 MPs were against the opening of negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“But with good arguments, and we communicated constantly, we managed it,” said Plenkovic.

He was particularly pleased that all decisions were made at a time when the political representatives of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina held the most important positions in the country and when the Croatian government strongly supported and facilitated consensus within the EU.

“This is a great day for Bosnia and Herzegovina, for all three constituent peoples and a special message of support for Croatia. It is one of the best messages we can have to conclude our international activities at the end of our second term,” said Plenkovic.