MP Ivan Lovrinović speaks about rumours that the European Commission wants the border dispute to be solved before the construction of Pelješac Bridge can begin.
”Is it true that the European Commission has asked the Croatian government to address the issue of a border dispute with Bosnia and Herzegovina before the construction of the Pelješac Bridge?” asked MP and president of the Let’s Change Croatia (Promijenimo Hrvatsku) party Ivan Lovrinović, reports Večernji List on January 16, 2018.
The information is said to have come from circles close to the government, and Lovrinović wants to know whether there will be another delay in the construction of this strategically important project for Croatia.
“We have received information from the very top of the government that the European Commission had requested in written form for Croatia to resolve its border issues at sea with Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) prior to the realisation of the Pelješac Bridge construction project. Therefore, I ask the Prime Minister whether the European Commission has asked Croatia, in the last three months, to solve the issue of the border at sea with BiH and whether the start of the bridge construction is linked to a border agreement between BiH and Croatia,” said Lovrinović
He also asked whether our partners in the European Union will respect Croatia’s sovereignty and the fact that Pelješac Bridge would be built on Croatian territory. “If they don’t respect the sovereignty and freeze EU funding until the border issue is resolved, we wonder whether the government will react and what will its position be? Did the European Commission, before approving the financing for the bridge, ask the government for a guarantee that an agreement between Croatia and BiH would be reached regarding Pelješac Bridge?” asked Lovrinović, adding that, given all the border disputes, he wondered what Croatian diplomacy and politics have been doing for the past 20 years.
“The image of Croatia in the world used to be positive. Why have we not used that for a favourable settlement of our relations with our neighbours? Everyone wants to solve their problems at the expense of our country and our territory. This is yet another proof that we don’t have a national strategy and we’re being exposed to additional costs once again,” said Lovrinović.
He wondered whether a visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina by President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović this week has anything to do with the letter from the European Commission. “If she knows about the letter, she should respond from Bosnia and Herzegovina on whether it’s true, and, if she doesn’t know anything about it, then we have another confirmation that Croatia has at least two separate foreign policies,” said Lovrinović.
Translated from Večernji List.
