The European Union will not tolerate threats to the territorial integrity, sovereignty and constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kalas in Sarajevo yesterday.
"Any attempts to break up the country are unacceptable," she said during a visit to Sarajevo.
"The leadership of Republika Srpska is undermining the constitutional and legal order of the country, threatening the fundamental freedoms of all citizens," said Kalas during a visit to EUFOR peacekeeping forces.
She said that the EU's decision in March to increase the number of EUFOR troops by several hundred "sends a clear message that the EU remains firmly committed to the stability of this region and the security of BiH."
Kalas said that political leaders must cooperate to solve problems, but warned that "inflammatory rhetoric and actions that deepen divisions are dangerous" and are contrary to the commitments that BiH has made on its path to EU membership.
Kalas, who ended her Balkan tour with a visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina, warned Albania of difficult reforms on its path to EU membership earlier in Tirana. She welcomed Albania's "ambitious" plan to close EU accession negotiations in two years and stressed the importance of maintaining a high pace of reforms.
At a joint conference with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, Kallas said that Albania is an important partner of the EU and that its future lies in the Union.
“You have our full support in opening new clusters and meeting benchmarks, especially in the area of the rule of law,” said Kalas, adding that it is necessary to implement reforms that are “always quite difficult.” She reiterated that there are no shortcuts on the path to membership.
The EU's foreign policy chief said that Albania's decision to fully implement EU sanctions on Russia, as well as its political, military and humanitarian support for Ukraine, demonstrates its commitment to shared values, which, she said, is always politically difficult.
The Albanian Prime Minister expressed hope that the negotiation process with the EU will be completed by 2027 and that it will become a member by 2030.
"We will not stop until we step through the EU's doors and sit at the same table as the EU," Rama said.
Albania is part of the EU's growth plan and is expected to receive more than 920 million euros over the next decade.
Albania yesterday signed a 90 million euro agreement with the European Investment Bank for the reconstruction of the railway line between the port of Durres and Rogozine, which Kalas said will "serve as a key route between member states and NATO for military mobility in Southeast Europe, which is extremely important in the current security conditions."
She also said that the project will create jobs and connect Albania with its neighbors and bring it closer to the EU.
The head of European diplomacy said that the first EU-Albania dialogue on security and defense began yesterday with the aim of expanding cooperation to new areas, including the fight against hybrid threats, terrorism, cybersecurity and crisis management.
The EU, as she recalled, has already provided 13 million euros to improve the readiness of the Albanian defense forces within the framework of the European Peace Facility.
Albania will hold parliamentary elections on May 11, in which Rama and his ruling leftist Socialist Party have made EU membership their main goal. The conservative opposition accuses the Socialists of corruption and an inability to lead the country forward.
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