ZAGREB, June 30, 2018 – The Pelješac bridge is a project the European Union is co-financing based on information submitted by Croatia, and if Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has some counterarguments, it can submit them to the European Commission, which will consider them, European Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc said in Sarajevo on Friday.
Responding to questions from the press after meeting with Council of Ministers Chairman Denis Zvizdić and Transport Minister Ismir Jusko, Bulc said Pelješac Bridge was one of the issues raised during the talks and that it was not the only contentious one between BiH and Croatia. She mentioned the Adriatic-Ionian corridor, alluding to the different opinions as to whose territory a motorway on that corridor should cross in relation to the Dubrovnik hinterland.
Bulc said the European Commission would call the two countries’ ministers to Brussels so that the EU could mediate in resolving the outstanding issues between them with a view to carrying out projects that had been launched.
Opinions on Pelješac Bridge differ, but I wish to say that the Commission decided to co-finance the project based on documentation submitted by Croatia, and the money comes from regional funds envisaged for Croatia, she said.
The Commission said in January there were no outstanding legal issues regarding the construction of the bridge. In June 2017, the Commission decided to allocate 357 million euro in cohesion policy funds, co-financing 85% of the project.
Bulc said BiH authorities, if they disagreed with the arguments and information available to the Commission, could send their own arguments to Brussels.
Croatian Transport Minister Oleg Butković has said the construction of the bridge in southern Croatia will begin in mid-July.
Bosniak politicians in BiH claim the bridge will restrict BiH’s access to the high seas. Some of them, including Presidency member Bakir Izetbegović, insist the two countries must first define the sea border, and have announced a lawsuit against Croatia before an international court.
