Organized by the Pan-European Union of BiH in Bihac, an international conference on „Bosnia and Herzegovina: a step towards candidate country status – Can we speed up the process?“ was held from 19 to 21 May 2017.
Three panels were held at the conference, with more than 130 attendees, main topic was the situation in BiH, the region and the Europe, the integration processes and the challenges facing BiH on its way to the EU. The conference was attended by representatives of the Montenegrin Pan-European Union: Vice-President Djordje Raičević, Secretary General Vladan Lalović, President of the Committee for European Integration of the Assembly of Montenegro and President of the CPEU Supervisory Board Adrijan Vuksanović and Coordinator of the Program for Sustainable Development and Tourism CPEU and Vice President of Montenegrin Djordje Brajovic.
Apart from the host, the President of the Pan-European Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vanja Gavran, Conference was also attended by President of the International Pan-European Union Alain Terenoire, Vice-President of the International Pan-European Union and President of the Austrian Pan-European Movement Karl von Habsburg, Bernd Posselt, Pan-European Union President Bernd Posselt, President of the Hungarian Pan-European Union Béla Aba, Secretary General of the International Pan-European Union and Minister of Science and Education of the Republic of Croatia, Prof. Pavo Barišić PhD, Member of the Presidency of the International Pan-European Union and Secretary General of the Austrian Pan European Movement Rainhard Kloucek, Vice President of the Slovenian Pan-European Movement Peter Zimmerman, members of Pan-European organizations from countries of the Western Balkan and Europe, European Parliamentarian Tonino Picula, European Parliament deputy Julie Ward, and current President of Robert Schuman Institute Doris Pack, Head of the EU Delegation to BH Ambassador Lars-Gunnar Wigemark, journalist and publicist Goran Milić, psychologist and political analyst Srđan Puhalo and Prof. Miodrag Zivanovic PhD from Banja Luka, Prof. Elmir Sadikovic PhD, Professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Sarajevo and high officials of the city of Bihac, Unsko – Sana Canton Husein Rosic and Chairperson of the Bihac City Council Davor Zupa, representatives of all three religious communities Franjo Komarica, Bishop of Banja Luka, Suad Mahmutovic, Bihac Imam and Dalibor Nenić Orthodox Bihac couple and experts of European integration, intellectuals, university professors, political analysts, journalists. Pan-European Union BiH Vanja Gavran pointed out, and the conference participants agreed that the process of BH’s entry into the EU can be accelerated with more confidence among those who lead BiH, and that the fulfillment of the conditions for BH’s entry into the EU must be the priority of all political entities in BH. He also reminded that PEU BH organizes such meetings year after year because they want to send a clear message that the only way of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the European direction. “We have always been part of Europe and we have to come back under its auspices,” Gavran said.
At the end of the conference, the participants adopted a Declaration addressed to political officials in BH and the international community.
