Kourkoulas : les Balkans occidentaux portent encore le lourd héritage de la guerre[en] 

What is the political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina today? 

Bosnia signed a year ago the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), which is the first step in the European process. Unfortunately things are not advancing very quickly. There is some progress in some areas, but there is still a lot to be done in order for us to be able to say that Bosnia is implementing the SAA in a positive way. This would be an important criterion for further steps – to give Bosnia candidate status and eventually start negotiations. The country still has difficulties in advancing on the European way. 

Looking at other Western Balkan countries, could we say that the others are advancing, albeit at different speeds, while there is little or no movement from Bosnia? 

I wouldn't say there is no movement forward, but it is very slow, and what is still missing is a consensus among all political forces to keep the political integration away from political infighting. This is what candidate countries in the recent past, including Bulgaria and Romania, have done. There had been an agreement between all political forces to have their differences, but to agree on European integration. This has not happened yet in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

You were the EU ambassador to Bulgaria during its accession to the Union. Do you try to sell these experiences in Bosnia? 

Of course. I certainly believe that Bulgaria is a success story, and will become even more of a success story for European integration in the years to come. I always bring the example of Bulgaria to my Bosnian friends, telling them that what we are asking them to do is not something supernatural, it's something feasible. 

Bulgaria and Romania, countries with a lot of problems, today also, were capable of achieving the goal of fulfilling the requirements. Again, the European Union is not a club of rich and perfect countries, but some minimal requirements you have to fulfill in order to be accepted in the club. Unfortunately again, in the Western Balkans, the legacy of war has not been overcome yet. I think this is the main difference which makes the process more difficult in Bosnia. 

Is nationalism still alive? 

Yes, nationalism is still alive, and the wounds of the war have not been healed, and reconciliation has not really taken place. 

Bosnia seems to have been badly hit by the economic crisis too. 

There is a quite negative impact. Before the crisis, the Bosnian economy was going quite well, although the real reforms had not even started. If the country starts advancing in the European pact, this would make it more attractive to foreign investment, as happened in Bulgaria, in Romania and in the other candidate countries in the period before accession. 

Do you have any news regarding visa liberalisation? The Western Balkan countries attach a great deal of importance to achieving visa-free travel in the Schengen space, but Bosnia again appears to be lagging behind.

The European Commission transmitted two days ago (on 25 May) the [visa liberalisation] report to the member states. This is an objective report, based on a technical analysis on the progress achieved. Then the Commission has to decide if and when to recommend to the member states the liberalisation for certain countries of the Western Balkans. 

I cannot speculate at this moment which countries will be included, but this is not the end of the story. Even if Bosnia is not included in the first proposal, there is still time and still a possibility of catching up. But it is also true that Bosnia started the whole process later than other countries of the region. And it is also true that the institutional complexity of Bosnia makes any progress more slow. 

But they have made some progress, which is recognised in our reports, and we are ready to intensify our cooperation, because we think that all the countries of the region should be able to travel freely. This is very important for European integration. EU integration is not only for diplomats, for technocrats, it is for people-to-people contacts. So we are very keen to have the visas liberalised as soon as possible, of course, when the conditions are met. 

In some articles about Bosnia, one reads about a surge of Islamism, about many mosques being built and people who did not previously adopt religious behaviour suddenly doing so. Is this the case? 

No. The vast majority of the population of Bosnia and Herzegovina - of all three major groups, Bosniaks, Bosnian Serbs and Bosnian Croats - they all endorse European values, and that's why a very high percentage of the population is in favour of European integration. Of course, there are extremists everywhere, not only in Bosnia, but in the EU, but the mainstream of the population are very much committed to European values. 

There are many EU and international representations in Sarajevo – the office of the UN high representative, the European Forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUFOR), the European Union Police Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUPM), and the European Commission delegation, which you are leading. How would you describe their interaction? 

There is a very strong international presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as you said, because of the war and because of the reconstruction efforts of the international community and its peace-keeping efforts. So the EU is not only represented by the Commission, by myself. We also have a very strong presence of EUFOR, of the EU Police Mission, and we have the office of the High Representative, who holds important executive powers, according to the Dayton agreement. 

He can impose legislation, he can remove politicians if they are undermining the Dayton agreement, and we, from the European Commission, are also participating in the Peace Implementation Council, which advises the high representative on what to do. We are in very close contact, and I must stress that the European Union has expressed its willingness, when the office of the High Representative is closed down, when all the conditions are met, that we are ready to reinforce the EU presence, because we acknowledge that Bosnia and Herzegovina has some special problems which need special attention. 

But this moment has not come yet? 

No, this moment has not come yet, there are still conditions to be fulfilled. But we are ready internally to ensure a stronger presence of the EU. 

Recently, high-ranking Austrian diplomat Valentin Inzko was appointed as high representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Wasn't this a hint that the international presence will still be needed in the years to come? 

Mr. Inzko is the high representative of the international community, but at the same time, he is the EU special representative. He enjoys the full support of the members of the Peace Implementation Council. We had a joint visit of US Vice-President Joe Biden and EU High representative Javier Solana, which was also a very strong indication that we are on the same line and our common aim is to give full ownership to the country, but once the conditions are met. We cannot take the risk of doing it in a premature way.