KOŠARAC: BiH INSTITUTIONS MUST ACT MORE BRAVELY TOWARDS EU

SARAJEVO, APRIL 24 /SRNA/ - Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Staša Košarac has said today that BiH institutions must protect the interests of local carriers and act more courageously towards the EU, which is exclusively after its own interest in relation to BiH carriers.

"The efforts I made at the Council of Ministers were focused on speeding up the performance of BiH institutions towards the EU institutions," said Košarac and added that the issue could have been resolved more quickly. Košarac has emphasized that the EU institutions do not give him a complex, and that he is always ready to work on protecting domestic production. "We have a problem because our colleagues will not side with us to protect the local," Košarac said after the meeting with a delegation of local carriers. He has pointed out that today's meeting with the representatives of local carriers was constructive, and has emphasized that BiH being held hostage by the EU must not be allowed. "If the EU prevents our carriers from transporting goods produced in the FBiH and Republika Srpska to the European market, what do they want? They want their transporters to be hired to transport our goods", Košarac said and emphasized that he cannot "nod" blankly to the actions and demands of the EU. Košarac stated that the solution is to work on the implementation of all four free trade agreements, to improve the foreign trade balance with the world. "In the total balance of foreign trade exchange with the world, about 70 products from Republika Srpska and FBiH are placed on the EU market," Košarac said, adding that the EU creates a direct problem for producers as well. He expressed his belief that at today's meeting with the director of the BiH Indirect Taxation Authority Zoran Tegeltija, the carriers will find a way to put the problems of the carriers on the agenda and solve them. "At the Council of Ministers, we did not have information about what the Minister of Transport and Communications Edin Forto has done so far. Based on the information received, I will insist on approaching the representation of BiH more seriously and putting this issue in focus through the chairperson of the Council of Ministers and the president of the European Commission," Košarac said.