ZAGREB, April 30, 2019 - Croatia and Serbia need to finally resolve the issue of the international border with Bosnia and Herzegovina as soon as possible and that would be the best proof of the readiness of these three countries to preserve peace and regional stability, Bosnia and Herzegovina's Prime Minister Denis Zvizdić said on Monday night after a Balkan summit in Berlin hosted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron.

A statement delivered to the media by Zvizdić's office notes that Zvizdić was explicitly opposed to drawing new borders in the Western Balkans based on ethnic principles and reiterated that territorial integrity, sovereignty and a multi-ethnic society need to be the only basis on which bilateral disputes can be resolved, particularly the issue of borders.

He once again called for the signing of agreements on Bosnia and Herzegovina's border with Croatia and Serbia "as an expression of respect for the European and democratic principle of the inviolability of internationally recognised borders, but also as proof of good neighbourly relations,” similarly to the way such an agreement was successfully concluded with Montenegro in 2015.

Zvizdić vehemently condemned connecting the solution to Kosovo's status with the Republika Srpska entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Clearly referring to incumbent chairman of the country's presidency, Milorad Dodik, Zvizdić said that he strongly condemned the "anti-constitutional conduct of those who are drafting some new borders across the territory of independent and internationally recognised states."

Zvizdić's message to Merkel and Macron was that in the existing circumstances the best support for Bosnia and Herzegovina would be to award it with the candidate status for accession to the EU and support efforts to activate the NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP).

He announced that Bosnia and Herzegovina would remain a constructive partner in all regional processes and confirmed that the country was prepared to support an agreement between Belgrade and Pristina that will reflect harmony and will not have any negative consequences in the region, particularly in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Zvizdić's message is that Bosnia and Herzegovina is not a source nor a threat of any form of terrorism in the region or the EU and that it remains dedicated to constructive regional processes like the Berlin Process.

More news about the border between Croatia and Bosnia can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, February 20, 2019 - The mayor of the northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina town of Bihać, Suhret Fazlić, on Wednesday accused the Croatian police of illegally entering Bosnia and Herzegovina in Una-Sana Canton where they are bringing illegal migrants who were found on Croatian territory and who, before that, somehow managed to cross the state border.

At the same time, the chairman of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency, Milorad Dodik, warned that Bosnia and Herzegovina could not handle illegal migrations on its own and that the European Union must get involved.

Fazlić made the accusations against the Croatian police at a session of the Bihac town council which discussed the migrant crisis which hit this part of Bosnia and Herzegovina the hardest.

"You must not allow the Croatian police to bring here 30, 40, 100 migrants each day, bypassing the official border crossing. I am offended as a Bosnian citizen that someone from another country can enter Bosnia's territory and do as they please, regardless of how friendly that country might be. Croatian police and special forces are entering Bosnia, bringing migrants and sending them back to Bihac," Fazlić told N1 television.

The Bihać mayor claims that the Bosnian Serb entity police behaved in a similar fashion, saying that they were immediately arresting all migrants found on their territory and bringing them to the Bosnian State Ministry of Security which then automatically sends migrants to Bihac," N1 broadcaster cited Fazlić as saying. "Bosnia and Herzegovina must resolve this," Fazlić said.

The Bihać town council adopted a conclusion demanding the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina to urgently voice its opinion about illegal migrations and take measures aimed at efficiently controlling the migrant crisis.

More news on the migrant crisis can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, October 29, 2018 - Bosnia and Herzegovina's border police administration called on Monday on government authorities in the country and other police agencies to undertake measures they have at their disposal and create conditions to open the Maljevac border crossing to Croatia which has been blocked for seven days after a group of illegal migrants tried to enter Croatia on that route.

After local businesses and residents in the Velika Kladuša area, who are mostly feeling the effects of the Maljevac border crossing being shut down, held a protest rally on Sunday, the border police administration recalled that the situation at the crossing was under control, however, the problem was that about 200 illegal migrants were still located in the immediate vicinity of the crossing and that was why Croatia was refusing to open the crossing to passengers and goods.

A press release sent to the media notes that the border police have done everything they can that is their legal obligation and that now it is up to other law enforcement agencies and government authorities to resolve the problem of removing the migrants who have set up a make-shift tent settlement and who refuse to leave until they are allowed entry into Croatia or are provided with accommodation in Bosnia that will be appropriate for winter conditions.

The migrants don't want to return to Velika Kladuša where they were staying in a make-shift camp which in fact was just a 'muddy paddock' where they set up their tents.

That problem needs to be resolved by the entity and cantonal interior ministries and the border police can only assist in that however there doesn't seem to be any indication that authorities plan to take any action. "We have contacted them several times with the aim of removing the migrants from the said location and offered our assistance and support in line with our abilities. In Bosnia, we have less than 2,000 officers unlike our colleagues in Croatia whose border administration is staffed with 6,500 officers and who at any given moment can rely on Croatian special forces responsible for public law and order. The Bosnian border police have not had adequate support from their colleagues not even when 250 illegal migrants on October 24 tried to forcefully cross into Croatia," the border police said in the press release.

The statement added that a special task force at the state level responsible for monitoring the migrant crisis has not to this day made any decision regarding the situation at the Maljevac crossing.

The International Office for Migration (IOM) on Monday expressed concern over the situation at the crossing. IOM said that their mobile team was trying to convince the migrants to move away from that area however without any success.

The migrant crisis is a topic often covered by Total Croatia News. See here for further articles.

ZAGREB, August 4, 2018 - The chairman of Bosnia and Herzegovina's tripartite presidency Bakir Izetbegović said on Friday it was not his intention to stop the construction of the Pelješac Bridge but to secure a document that would guarantee his country unobstructed access to international waters in the Adriatic Sea.

ZAGREB, February 19, 2018 - Opening the question of the border between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina would be like opening Pandora's Box and Bosnia and Herzegovina would fare far worse than Croatia, the Chairman of the Croatian Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee, Miro Kovač, said in Sarajevo on Monday.

ZAGREB, February 18, 2018 - Border disputes between southeast European countries which cannot be solved bilaterally, should be forwarded to an international court rather than going to arbitration, Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Marija Pejčinović Burić said in Munich on Saturday where she was attending an international security conference.

ZAGREB, January 22, 2018 - A mine clearing project in the Croatian municipality of Dvor at the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, totalling four square kilometres, has been completed, enabling better surveillance and access to the state border , it was said in Sisak on Monday.

After the experience with Slovenia and Croatia, the EU does not want to deal with another border dispute.

Despite latest protests from some government officials from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia is determined to construct the Pelješac Bridge.

While some border crossings are overwhelmed with passengers, others stand completely empty.