European Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso, said Saturday in Sarajevo that Bosnia-Herzegovina could complete Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) negotiations with the European Union by the end of this year, DPA reported. "I estimate that these (SAA) negotiations can be concluded by the end of this year, in the best possible scenario," Barroso told reporters in Sarajevo after meeting with Bosnian Prime Minister Adnan Terzic. This best case scenario would be possible if the country made substantial progress on reforms and and if full cooperation with The Hague-based UN War Crimes Tribunal was achieved, he said. After fulfilling key requests set by the EU, Bosnia-Herzegovina opened SAA negotiations with the EU earlier this year, the first step towards eventual membership in the bloc. Besides further reforms and better cooperation with the war crimes tribunal, Bosnian authorities would also be expected to speed up the constitutional reform necessary for the country's progress towards the EU. "The main guiding principles for the constitutional reform should be efficiency, functionality and human rights," said Barroso.
