Strasbourg, 25 April, 2012 - Speaking after a meeting with Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland, Foreign Minister Lagumdžija said his goal was to transform Bosnia and Herzegovina into a stable democracy based on Council of Europe values.

Secretary General Jagland said elections planned for 2014, would not be acceptable without the changes happening. He welcomed new developments, such as cooperation with international monitoring, agreement on the census and progress on the question of military property. 

Speaking on the tenth anniversary of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s membership, Minister Lagumdžija pledged that the struggle for full compliance with international human rights and democratic standards would continue.

Outstanding issues still remained, but a positive spirit prevailed and there was a strong political will of all political parties to implement change.

“It sometimes seems too slow or even futile, but we are ready to try again, to fail again and to fail even better in order to reach what we firmly believe our citizens deserve,” he said.

Council of Europe membership had brought great benefits based on common European values, with human rights protection of particular significance for the country’s citizens, and a whole new dimension to foreign policy, he added.

Declaration of the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers on the Sejdić & Finci case
Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Council of Europe
More information on the case Sejdić and Finci
Video of the speech of the Foreign Minister Lagumdžija

Read also:

Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on Bosnia and Herzegovina