Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denis Zvizdić, is participating in the Conference of Speakers of the Parliaments of the European Union (EU) Member States, organized by the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic.

This is the first participation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Conference of Speakers of the Parliaments of the EU Member States after Bosnia and Herzegovina received the status of a candidate for full membership in the EU in December last year.

The conference is an opportunity for the speakers of the parliaments of EU member states and candidate states for EU membership to discuss current topics and challenges facing the EU.

In his address, Zvizdić spoke about the security situation in BiH and emphasized that individuals from the RS entity have again started blocking the work of BiH institutions and jeopardizing the country's constitutional and legal order, which has significantly slowed down Bosnia and Herzegovina's EU path.

Zvizdić called for preventive action to protect territorial integrity, sovereignty and lasting peace.

The conference opened with a session on Russian aggression against Ukraine and the EU's response within the broader geopolitical context – EU enlargement, energy security and post-war reconstruction.

Speaker Zvizdić said that he is proud of the fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina received candidate status for EU membership in December of last year, at the very time when the Czech Republic chaired the Council of the EU.

“We know how much the Czech Republic advocated making such a decision, and I use this opportunity to thank you for that. I am glad that for the first time, I can participate in today's conference with my colleagues from Moldova and Ukraine in the capacity of the speaker of the parliament of a country that has candidate status,” said Zvizdić during his address.