ZAGREB, October 30, 2018 - The newly-elected Croat member of Bosnia and Herzegovina's tripartite presidency Željko Komšić sent a letter to EU leaders on Tuesday saying that Croatian members of the European Parliament were saying untruths about the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and accusing Croatia of "a diplomatic aggression" on Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The letter which Komšić's Democratic Front (DF) party forwarded to the media was sent to European Parliament President Antonio Tajani, European Council President Donald Tusk, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, and European Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Commissioner Johannes Hahn.

Komšić said that in their recent joint statement, criticising the outcome of the recent election in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatian members of the European Parliament stated "a number of untruths about the election process in Bosnia and Herzegovina."

The 11 Croatian MEPs last Thursday sent a joint letter to EU officials regarding the October 7 general election, expressing deep concern that the Croat representative in the State Presidency was elected by Bosniaks while a vast majority of Croats voted for another candidate.

Komšić said that his letter was also prompted by "an open diplomatic aggression by an EU member against Bosnia and Herzegovina."

In a recent diplomatic offensive Croatia's Prime Minister Andrej Plenković warned before EU institutions about Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina not being equal to the other two constituent peoples after Komšić was elected to the Presidency owing to Bosniak votes. Referring to the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Komšić said that the October election was conducted in line with the existing constitution and laws even though his election is not questionable in terms of legality but in terms of legitimacy.

Komšić said that in their letter to the EU's Foreign Affairs Council, the Croatian MEPs had shown a political tendency to violate provisions of the Dayton peace agreement. "The letter by the Croatian MEPs is yet another attack by Croatia on Bosnia and Herzegovina's sovereignty, its sovereign right to decide on its election system or, more precisely, it is an act of direct interference by Croatia in Bosnia and Herzegovina's internal affairs, which is contrary both to international law and order and to usual relations between two sovereign countries," Komšić said.

Komšić went on to say that the Croatian MEPs and Croatian politicians were wrong to say that Bosnia and Herzegovina is "a state of two entities and three constituent peoples" because the preamble to the constitution, based on the Dayton agreement which put an end to the war in the country in 1995, says that Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs, as the constituent peoples, determine the country's constitution together with other ethnic groups and citizens.

"The Croatian MEPs ignore the fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country of three constituent peoples as well as other citizens and other ethnic groups. Referring selectively to its constitution and only to the constituent peoples, without mentioning other ethnic groups and other citizens, promotes discrimination, and excludes other citizens and other ethnic groups as a constituent of the state," said Komšić, who, even though expected to represent Croats in the collective state presidency, promotes himself as a representative of all citizens.

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ZAGREB, October 26, 2018 - Croatia's European parliamentarians wanted to additionally raise awareness about the status of Bosnian Croats with their letter to the presidents of the European Parliament, Council and Commission about the need for legitimate representation of Croats in all institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina and particularly in its presidency, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Friday, adding that he wasn't planning to meet with the presidency's newly-elected Croat member, Željko Komšić, just yet.

"I think that the message by eleven of my colleagues is entirely compatible with what I said in the European Council. This letter should additionally sensitise the leaders of European institutions about the need for legitimate representation in all institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in particular in its presidency because the meaning of the Dayton or Paris peace accords is not to undermine its fundamental essence, its fundamental provisions of the equality of the constituent peoples," Plenković told the press.

Yesterday Croatia's MEPs sent a letter to EU officials expressing deep concern with the fact that the Croat member to the presidency, Željko Komšić, was elected by Bosniak voters while the majority of Croats voted for another candidate, Dragan Čović.

Asked whether he would meet with Komšić soon, the prime minister said that he hadn't planned to. "He is a member of the presidency and his main counterpart is the President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović. We haven't planned anything of that nature yet," Plenković said.

Asked about the recent incidents with migrants at the Maljevac border crossing, Plenković said that Interior Minister Davor Božinović was in daily contact with the European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, Dimitris Avramopoulos and that the commission was monitoring everything that is being done to prevent illegal migration.

The Maljevac - Velika Kladuša crossing between Bosnia and Croatia is still closed for the third day in a row, the Interior Ministry reported earlier on Friday. About 200 migrants are situated on the Bosnian side of the border and are being monitored by Bosnian border police who are tasked to prevent the migrants from illegally crossing the border.

ZAGREB, October 10, 2018 - The European Union institutions which have approved and are co-financing the construction of Pelješac Bridge say the project will be realised as planned, regardless of Bosnian official Željko Komšić's threats of a lawsuit against Croatia.

ZAGREB, October 10, 2018 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Tuesday that Željko Komšić, who was on Sunday elected Croat member of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Presidency mostly owing to Bosniak votes, had used strong rhetoric during his election campaign, criticising not so much him but Croatia's president, while his (Plenković's) messages regarding Bosnia and Herzegovina were very fair, the key message being about the equality of the country's constituent peoples.

ZAGREB, October 8, 2018 - Democratic Front (DF) candidate Željko Komšić, Democratic Action Party (SDA) candidate Šefik Džaferović and Bosnian Serb nationalist leader Milorad Dodik have won seats on Bosnia-Herzegovina's three-person presidency, election officials said Monday.