Another in a series of “Discussions on Europe” was held at ZSEM this week. In the previous “Discussions on Europe” series which began in 2012, ZSEM hosted a significant number of distinguished guests from the political and economic community of Croatia and from around the world. The new addition to the series was this week’s lecture by the Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dr. Dragan Čović, who spoke on the theme “Bosnia and Herzegovina Today”.
ZSEM’s Associate Dean, Maja Martinović, PhD, emphasized during her introduction to the lecture that “the political situation in BiH, in which Croats are one of the constituent peoples, is of great importance for the region”.
Meanwhile, in his lecture, Dr. Dragan Čović clearly stated that the only path to success for BiH is through Euro-Atlantic integration and that he believes that Croatia will offer its support to BiH regarding this matter.
“We are, in fact, a part of Europe, however, when we will legally become a part of it depends only on us. I believe that we will take a step forward with the help of our friends, especially Croatia. Two years ago, we applied for membership. Nobody believed this, but in agreement with representatives of European institutions, we established that by the end of 2017 we would gain candidate status. We have fulfilled the conditions for 14 months now; we have met with Jean-Claude Juncker and we were promised that this will be resolved. If we take this seriously, I believe there is a chance that this will become a part of Euro-Atlantic integration,” said Dr. Čović .
The Election Law in BiH, NATO membership, security issues, and the position of Croats as a constituent people who are treated as a national minority, as well as the emigration of young people, were just some of the topics Dr. Čović addressed in his lecture.
Among those present in the full Antun Bauer auditorium at ZSEM were Adviser (for Social Affairs and Youth) to the President of the Republic of Croatia, Renata Margaretić Urlić, President of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, academic Zvonko Kusić, deputy speaker of the Croatian Parliament academic Željko Reiner, State Secretary of the Ministry Foreign and European Affairs Zdravka Bušić, Rector of the University of Zagreb, Dr. Damir Boras, deputy mayor of Zagreb, Dr. Olivera Majic, and representatives and delegates of numerous foreign embassies, state institutions, agencies and other institutions with which ZSEM cooperates.
