President Pahor at the Brdo-Brijuni leadership meeting in Sarajevo

President of the Republic of Slovenia Borut Pahor met with leaders of the Brdo-Brijuni Process in Sarajevo. This year's summit was hosted by Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bakir Izetbegović, with a special guest of the meeting being President of the Republic of Italy Sergio Mattarella. Upon invitation from Slovenian President Borut Pahor and Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, the meeting was also attended by President of Albania Bujar Nishani, President of Montenegro Filip Vujanović, President of Kosovo Hashim Thaçi, President of FYR Macedonia Gjorge Ivanov, and President of Serbia Tomislav Nikolić.
With regard to its content, the focus of this year's Brdo-Brijuni summit was placed on stability in Southeast Europe. The leaders agreed that their main responsibility is to secure peace and stability, which means a political dialogue must be maintained and reconciliation in the region promoted. This is especially important at a time when the pace of EU expansion is most likely to slow down a little bit and the region is vulnerable to global security challenges due to its fragile stability. Once again, it was emphasised at the summit that the European integration is a key political process for the region because the common strategic vision of an integrated, free and peaceful Europe can only be realised by integrating Southeast Europe in the EU. It is therefore necessary to resolve any bilateral and regional issues and disputes that prevent progress in the region and inhibit the integration of Southeast Europe into the European Union.

The leaders agreed that political stability is also a prerequisite for economic development and foreign investments. Stability in Southeast Europe is especially important for Slovenia as a Central European country bordering the Southeast Europe, because it can expect to be the first to feel its possible aggravated consequences.

At a press conference following the meeting, President of the Republic of Slovenia Borut Pahor expressed satisfaction about the sincerity demonstrated by all participants in the Process and their willingness to engage in a dialogue. He said that, in his opinion, the EU will more or less be dealing with its internal issues in the coming months and years rather than with the expansion process, which should not compromise any reform processes in countries who wish to become EU and NATO members. President of Slovenia emphasised that members of the Brdo-Brijuni Process should encourage one another, regardless of their different statuses in the Euro-Atlantic integrations.

“I cannot imagine an integrated EU without all countries from this region having full membership. However, in the next period, we will have to find strength between us in order to mutually encourage one another in resolving bilateral disputes and carrying out reforms that will qualify countries for their memberships,” said President Pahor at the press conference.

At today’s Brdo-Brijuni summit in Sarajevo, the leaders came to common conclusions, agreeing that politicians are, among other things, responsible for building trust by means of open, honest and direct talks, without being burdened by historical disputes, and they undertook to resolve any open issues by means of dialogue and on the basis of international law, starting with the implementation of all agreements and treaties currently in place.

Photo: Photo: Daniel Novakovič/STA