European Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, visited Bosnia and Herzegovina to strengthen cooperation on disaster prevention, preparedness and response, at both national and regional level. His visit comes at a time when the country has reconfirmed its interest to join the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism, which coordinates joint crisis response actions. The Commissioner also attended an EU-funded full-scale earthquake exercise response, with first responders taking part from Albania, Austria, Montenegro, Romania, Slovenia and other international agencies.

Janez Lenarčič said, “Just a few days ago, Bosnia and Herzegovina was hit by two earthquakes. We cannot always predict when and where the next one will strike, but we can get better prepared. Therefore I fully support Bosnia and Herzegovina’s request to join the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. I am confident that becoming a member of our European civil protection framework will ensure that Bosnia and Herzegovina benefits from stronger crisis response whenever large scale crises strike. Together, we can protect and save lives.”

The Commissioner also met with Members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Minister of Security Selmo Cikotić, amongst others. During his visit, the Commissioner also announced €2.5 million in additional humanitarian funding to help Bosnia and Herzegovina cover the needs of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in the country.