Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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133. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade in view of the upcoming and welcome accession of Croatia to the European Union, the steps his Department, both in the context of the Irish EU Presidency and otherwise, is taking to ensure that EU policy is focused on the acceleration of the accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the union in view of the fact that this would contribute enormously to the stability and prosperity of a region once ravaged by war and hostility; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28090/13]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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As I have said in this house on a number of occasions, Ireland, and indeed all 27 Member States of the European Union, fully and firmly supports Bosnia and Herzegovina’s EU perspective as a future member state of the EU. I share the Deputy’s welcome of Croatia’s imminent accession and hope that it will prove to be an inspiration for the other countries of the Western Balkans, including Bosnia and Herzegovina. Along with international partners, it is the EU's aim to support a stable and viable Bosnia and Herzegovina co-operating peacefully with its neighbours and irreversibly on track towards EU membership. EU membership for Bosnia and Herzegovina is firmly tied to the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the country.

The path to EU membership for Bosnia and Herzegovina is clear. The EU has set out its strategy towards Bosnia and Herzegovina in the European Council conclusions of March 2011 and the successive reinforcing conclusions. Since September 2011 the EU has installed a reinforced and comprehensive presence in the country combining the assets of the European Commission and the European External Action Service, through an EUSR office. The EU military force EUFOR ALTHEA remains present in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In terms of EU accession, we were encouraged by the launch of a High Level Dialogue on Accession in June 2012 which saw agreement between the political leaders on a roadmap towards accession.

However, campaigning in advance of the municipal elections in October last year saw this positive atmosphere eroded. There has been virtually no progress on reforms since then. And the political situation has become more complicated with an attempted reshuffle of the government in the Federation entity.

The EU has made great efforts to encourage the political leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina to move forward with reforms. There is obvious disappointment that the efforts that the EU has made in this regard have reached an impasse.

The EU will now need to examine what else can be done and I believe this can best be done in the context of a review of the EU Special Representative’s mandate, which I hope to see taken forward by High Representative Ashton in July.

However, I must emphasise that while we will do everything in our power to encourage movement on the path to EU integration, this is ultimately a matter for the political leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The EU cannot impose a solution. The most we can do is use our policies to encourage and facilitate progress.