CEI Secretary General, Ambassador Gerhard Pfanzelter, met Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ms. Ana Trišić-Babić in Sarajevo on 9 March 2011. At the centre of discussions was the role of the CEI in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Ambassador Pfanzelter confirmed that Bosnia and Herzegovina was benefitting from CEI projects and activities aimed at supporting the EU perspective of the country. Ms. Trišić-Babić highlighted that Bosnia and Herzegovina was strongly committed to regional cooperation and was willing to make its role within the CEI even stronger. Sarajevo is committed to strengthening its EU candidacy perspective, also by fully using the opportunities offered by the CEI.
In this regard, a Civil Society Network could help people to be more directly involved in the EU integration process. It could contribute to familiarizing citizens with the EU values and standards as well as promote active citizenship and democratic participation. Ambassador Pfanzelter emphasized the strong CEI links with civil society organisations: more than 50% of CEI projects are implemented with NGO partners. In this context, Ambassador Pfanzelter and Ms. Trišić-Babić discussed the possibility to establish a CEI Civil Society Network, based on a proposal submitted by Bosnian NGOs.
